Elemental
by Liris
Summary: Set after TTP. Artemis, Butler, Holly and Trouble are called together, but by who, or what? Will contain violence eventually, plot still under construction. H/A.
1. The Voice

This requires an explanation before I launch into the story. The original idea for this was not mine. AH4eva gave me kind permission to write this, so major thanks to you. The characters belong to Eoin Colfer, except for the Voice and the four OC's in later chapters.  
This is going to be a long fic, probably in two or three parts, and I will be writing it as I go along, so updates will be slower than in Viranaemia. I tried my best to keep them all in character, and I think I did ok, but please tell me if there is anything you don't like. I want to get this as good as I can, because if the start of this isn't really good, the rest of it is going to fall apart. I will try to get updates about once a week, but no promises. Anyway, here is the first installment. If anyone has a good idea for a title for this, please pm me. I want as much of everyone's imput on this as you're willing to give. Thanks!

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Captain?" Trouble barked, hand straying to his Neutrino. Holly sighed and walked past him, looking around. He should be here by now.

"Yes, Commander, I'm sure. This is Artemis we're talking about. We owe our entire civilisation to him and Butler, the least we can do is meet with him when he asks."

He had actually asked, too. Holly had received an email from the boy the previous day, politely requesting that her and Trouble come to the surface and meet with him about 'a very urgent matter'. Holly found that suspicious. Artemis didn't ask, he demanded. The boy was up to something, and she wanted to be able to punch him if the situation called for it. Trouble knew her real motivation for agreeing to the meeting, and snorted at her explanation.

"I still don't like it. Why did he want to meet here, of all places?"

Holly shrugged. Who ever knew why Artemis did anything? Still, the Commander had a point. It was an odd place for a meeting.

"I don't know, Commander. Ask him when he gets here."

Trouble ignored the fact that he'd just been given an order and returned to scanning the surroundings. Where was Fowl?

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

"Why here, of all places?" grumbled Artemis, pushing dark hair out of his eyes. Butler shrugged and looked around. They were a little late because they'd gotten caught in the Saturday night traffic outside Dublin city centre, so Holly should definitely be here by now. 'At the place we first met', her email had said. Well, there it was. The magnificent oak in all its glory. Where was Holly?

"Maybe she's trying to get me back for the time-travel incident" theorised the boy, wincing. It would be a low blow, but she would certainly be entitled to do so. Butler acknowledged that it was a possibility, eyes still darting all over the landscape. Finally, he spotted what looked like a heat shimmer by the trunk. Holly. He started towards her slowly; caution was the better part of valour. There was something about this situation that he didn't like.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Holly saw the two shadowy figures before Trouble did. She pointed and switched off her shield.

"Here they are."

Beside her, Trouble did the same. His sudden appearance startled Artemis. The boy looked to Holly.

"You didn't tell me the Commander was going to be here."

Holly frowned.

"What do you mean? In your email you asked for both of us."

"_My_ email? You contacted me."

"If neither of you sent the messages, then who did?" Trouble asked, drawing his Neutrino. Holly imitated him, starting up her wings and scanning the entire surrounding area from ten metres up. Butler pushed Artemis against the tree and aimed his Sig Sauer at the floor, ready to shoot at anything that so much as twitched. They were being set up.

"I don't see anything, Commander. Just a few trees and a cow."

Holly floated back to earth and stalked to Artemis's side. His suit was rumpled from being shoved unceremoniously against the oak. He pulled his shirt straight.

"What sort of person lures all four of us here, then doesn't do anything about it?" Holly asked him. "I've checked the surrounding area, and there's nobody there, shielded or otherwise. I even did X-ray in case they were hiding in one of those tents you used when you kidnapped me, and got nothing. We're the only ones here."

"Maybe they planted something, like a bomb?" Artemis suggested. From his tone, one would have thought that he didn't care whether or not he got blown up. Holly shook her head.

"There is no bomb."

Holly spun and pointed her weapon at the sky. The voice had emanated from somewhere above their heads and it was no-one she recognised. It was also impossible to say whether it was male or female. Trouble walked over and stood back to back with her, pointing his Neutrino at the stars. Butler made sure that no part of Artemis was visible behind his bulk and imitated the fairies pose.

"Who's there?" Trouble shouted at the sky in general, running another check for thermals through his helmet filter. Nothing.

"Not who" said the voice "but what."

"I really hate riddles" Holly said, listening intently. If they could keep the voice talking, then maybe they could pinpoint its exact location. "Just name yourself."

"Guardian" came the reply. Holly still couldn't place it. It seemed to be coming from all directions at once, which wasn't possible.

"Guarding what?" Artemis asked. His voice was a little muffled, but his question was a good one. There was a hint of humour in the voice when it answered this time.

"Guarding you. I'm here to help you."

"Then show yourself" Trouble bellowed, tired of talking to an empty sky.

"Not yet. You will see me when you need to, and I will always be around to help you in the upcoming days. Until then, I will impart a gift to each of you."

"I'm alright, thanks" Holly said, completely unnerved by this experience. "I don't take gifts from disembodied voices."

"You will take this one" said the voice, with steel in its tone. "You will have no choice."

There was a flash of pure white light that made all four of them cover their eyes. By the time they could see again, the light had separated into four colours and was hovering above their heads like some parody of the Aurora Borealis. Red, blue, silver and green streaked across their vision. When the voice spoke again, it was louder and more demanding.

"These gifts will provide you with a chance in the upcoming struggle. They are your only chance. Wield them well."

The four streaks of lights swirled around each other and headed for the figures on the ground. The green light surrounded Butler's form, lifting him away from the tree and exposing Artemis. The silver light bathed Trouble, pulling him into the sky opposite Butler. Both of them were curled in the foetal position, and were completely unresponsive to the shouts from the two still on the ground. Holly dived in front of Artemis, making the blue light ricochet back into the sky. The red streak followed her, but stopped short when she bellowed 'no' at it. The voice wasn't happy.

"Accept it, Holly. It will help you. The gifts are specific, and this one is yours. Trouble and Domovoi already have theirs, do not turn this aside."

The light danced in front of Holly, swaying backwards and forwards in a complicated, mesmerising dance. Holly's gun lowered a few inches.

"Accept it" the voice demanded softly. Holly dropped her gun and moved forwards. Artemis tried to stop her, but she didn't seem to hear him. The light enveloped her and she was lifted into the air with the other two. The blue light swirled around Artemis, and the voice hissed sibilantly at him.

"Accept it."

The light filled the boy's vision. The voice was right, he should accept it. How could he not? He reached out a hand and touched the streak of blue. It surged up his arm and surrounded him. His vision went black, and the light lifted him to join the others in the sky. They rotated slowly around each other. The voice whispered softly to the four unconscious figures in their bundles of light.

"To each of you I bequeath power unlimited. It never needs to charge unlike fairy magic, but that does not mean you should waste it. Each gift is specific to you and your personality, but also compliments each of the others. Together, you are stronger. Good luck."

* * *

That's it for the first chapter. I want to do a poll-type thing. It's gonna be via reviews or pm's, because my profile doen't like official polls. I don't know why. Anyway, I have the first part of this planned out, but I want your imput. Who do you want the ultimate villian to be? This is set after TTP, so we have past Opal, present Opal, Ark Sool, Minerva, Jon Spiro, Arno Blunt, an OC, etc. I will also take other suggestions into account. How about a collaberation of two or more of them? Please, help me out here. Thanks so much.  
Liris  
xxx


	2. Discovery

Okay people, chapter two up. Thanks to RLD Flame-point Callie-co, henceforth referred to as RLD, for being the most amazing and efficient beta ever. I have a few ideas now for a villian, but I'd still like to hear any imput you wish to give. Also, I'm running a poll on the pairings. So far, A/H is winning. Let me know what you want, huh?  
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Eoin Colfer, the idea belongs to AH4eva. I own the other stuff. Enjoy!

* * *

Artemis groaned as he regained consciousness. His head hurt, and he was cold. Where was he? He opened his eyes and sat up, squinting in the daylight. He was under an oak tree. Why would he be there? What had happened last night? And why wasn't he wearing anything? He hunched over and looked around. To his left was Butler, and he could see from the manservant's back that he was also nude. What in the world...?

He heard a moan behind him and to his right; uncovering as little of his body as possible, he turned and saw a short figure lying there, with messy dark hair and pointed ears – Trouble. The elf sat up like Artemis, before noticing his lack of clothing.

"What the...?" he muttered angrily, imitating Artemis's posture. "What did you do, Fowl?!"

"Nothing! At least, I don't think I did... I don't remember what happened last night."

Trouble narrowed his eyes, refusing to look anywhere other than at the human's face.

"We were supposed to meet you here. You turned up, and then..." Trouble trailed off. "I don't recall."

"We?" Artemis asked. Trouble nodded.

"Me and Holly..."

He looked around frantically. Butler woke and sat up, thankfully with his back to the elf. Trouble didn't really process this; his attention was occupied by the fact that he could see only himself, Artemis and Butler on the ground. Where was Holly?

He heard a sound from above his head, looked up, and glimpsed a foot poking out from the oak's leaves. He stood, making Artemis avert his gaze rather quickly, and called, "Holly? Is that you?"

There was another groan, a gasp, and the foot withdrew into the shelter of the oak.

"D'Arvit!"

Trouble smiled – that was Holly, no doubt about it. What was she doing in a tree?

"What the hell happened?" she bellowed, ensuring that no part of her anatomy was visible through the boughs. Trouble assumed that she, like them, had found herself deprived of clothing.

"No idea," he answered. Her reply made him smile.

"Oh, that's comforting. Now where the hell are my clothes? And my equipment? Fowl, if you had anything to do with this I swear I'll..."

"Not me," Artemis interjected quickly. He was taking no blame for _this_. Butler stood and began to make his way to where they'd left the car – he always kept a set of clothing inside it, a habit that would pay off now. There was enough to go around, he thought. Artemis had a suit and a set of casual wear in there in case he had to go undercover unexpectedly. It hadn't happened yet but now it was going to be useful, so long as one of the boys didn't mind going topless and giving Holly the suit's shirt. He put on his suit at the car, then carried the other clothes back to the tree. Holly was still in the oak, and neither Artemis nor Trouble was looking anywhere near each other. Butler dropped the suit by Trouble and handed Artemis the casual clothing over the boy's shoulder. Each of them thanked him and dressed quickly. Holly's voice rang out from the branch she was sitting on.

"What about me? If you think I'm walking around naked, you've got another thing coming!"

Trouble tossed the shirt in his hands onto the lowest limb. Holly sighed, swore, and climbed down to retrieve it. The men caught a glimpse of thigh before she grabbed her shirt and retreated back into obscurity. After much swearing and complaining, she emerged and dropped to the ground. The shirt covered her from neck to mid-thigh, but still left little to the imagination. At least it was blue rather than white. She rolled the sleeves back so that she could use her hands and glared at her companions.

"If you say one word, I swear I'll..."

Trouble interrupted before she could finish her threat, striding in a circle around the other three. Holly tugged self-consciously at the shirt as if she could make it longer.

"We need to figure out what happened. I remember waiting here with Captain Short, and then you two arrived..." he gestured at the humans and frowned.

"Then what?" asked Butler, who recalled nothing after leaving the car. Holly took over the narrative, frowning as she tried to remember.

"Someone set us up, I think. You didn't email me, and I didn't set the meeting up..."

Silence fell as they each tried to remember what had happened, and all drew a blank. Holly swore and punched the tree; a few rotten acorns at her feet burst into flames and she jumped back in shock, staring at the fire.

"What the hell..." she cried, voice higher than Artemis had ever heard it. He put a hand on her shoulder, which she shook off roughly.

"Spontaneous combustion," he muttered, trying to calm her. She just looked at him.

"They were damp, Artemis. Wet things don't just burst into flames for no apparent reason." Artemis frowned, realizing Holly had a point.

Trouble and Butler were attempting, unsuccessfully, to scoop water from the river with their hands to throw on the fire; Holly joined them, kneeling by Trouble and scooping river water into her hands. It trickled out between her fingers before she got anywhere near the oak tree.

Artemis sighed. "That's not going to work. You need to throw the water at the flames."

"With what, genius?" Holly shot back. One of their sacred sites was burning, and all Mud Boy could do was deliver lectures. "We don't have any of our equipment."

Artemis gestured at the tree, unsure what he was trying to achieve. Water flew from the river and onto the flames, following the arc of the boy's arm, and the fire sizzled out of existence. All four of them froze.

"Do that again," Holly said, looking at him curiously. Artemis waved vaguely in the direction of the river. Water splashed up and soaked Trouble's torso. Artemis let his arm drop, speechless. Holly walked around him in a circle, scrutinising him. Butler took a more direct approach.

"How did you do that?" he asked, handing Trouble the suit jacket to dry his bare chest with. Artemis shrugged.

"I have no idea."

Trouble threw the jacket aside and spoke.

"That fire started by Holly's feet, when she lost her temper and hit the tree."

The three men turned to look at her and she backed away, palms raised.

"Whoa. You think _I_ did that?"

"It's a possibility," mused Artemis. "After all, you said yourself that wet things don't catch fire easily. If I can manipulate water, what's to say you can't start fires?"

"You're making me sound like a pyromaniac," she objected numbly. Could it be true?

"Try it again," Trouble urged her. Holly wasn't sure that she'd heard him right.

"You want me to deliberately attempt to set things on fire?"

Trouble nodded and pulled a few leaves from a low-hanging bough, setting them down in front of her.

"Just try it."

Holly shook her head incredulously, but closed her eyes and tried to recall how she'd felt before the acorns had suddenly combusted. Angry, a little scared... She heard the other three gasp, and opened her eyes. The leaves were blazing merrily. Artemis pointed at the river and water squirted on them, putting the blaze out. Holly exhaled shakily.

"Okay then..."

Trouble eyed her warily.

"Remind me not to irritate you in the future."

Artemis turned to him and Butler.

"Fire and water are two of the elements. Maybe you have some sort of influence over the other two."

Butler frowned.

"So, I could be able to, what? Make the grass grow, or create a hurricane?"

"Think about it," interrupted Trouble. "Holly has fire, right? It matches her personality somewhat – uncontrollable, untameable, and dangerously beautiful."

Holly blushed and looked at the ground – she'd never heard herself described quite like that before. Trouble turned to Artemis.

"And Fowl here used to be colder than an ice cube in the Arctic. So that fits."

"I think it's more than that," Holly interjected. "He's always so calm on the surface, but has undercurrents that could pull you out to sea. I never know where he's coming from, and he can change flow in the middle of a plan effortlessly. If that's not a watery trait, I don't know what is."

It was Artemis's turn to look down. He was unsure whether he'd just been complimented or insulted, but either way it was strange to hear Holly talking about him like that. Maybe she knew him better that he'd thought. She turned back to Trouble, who cringed slightly, awaiting her scrutiny.

"You seem more like air than earth to me, Trubs" she said, completely forgetting protocol in the face of this momentous revelation. "Earth is too calm, and you have too many personality quirks. I mean, you jump into danger without a second thought, you can go from calm to terrifying in a matter of seconds..."

Trouble frowned, but decided that she was right. He made a circular gesture with his wrist, feeling a little foolish. Nothing happened. Holly shrugged.

"Try again."

Trouble took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. A sudden gust of wind blew Holly into the oak tree, grabbing at the hem of her shirt. Trouble was by her side in an instant.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded, looking a little dazed.

"Just try not to sneeze any time soon," she said, rubbing the back of her head. Artemis turned to Butler.

"That leaves you with earth."

Butler knelt and stroked the grass by his feet. A few daisies sprouted and the grass grew about an inch. He stood quickly, trying not to look as shocked as he felt.

"What does this all mean?" asked Holly, looking at each of the others in turn. "What the heck happened last night...?"

There was a pause as they strained their memories. A flash of light registered in Artemis's mind – a blue glow enveloping his body... He gasped as the memories of the previous night overwhelmed him. Butler was by his side instantaneously.

"Artemis, talk to me. What is it?"

"The voice..." said the boy. Butler looked confused, but Artemis's words started off a chain reaction of memories in Holly's mind. She met Trouble's eyes and spoke hoarsely.

"There was a flash of light... I couldn't look away..."

She trailed off, realising that whatever that voice and light thing was, it had mesmerised her. She clenched her fists before remembering what happened when she got irritated. Trouble looked at her, concerned, but Artemis knew what she was talking about.

"The same thing happened to me. These two were taken too quickly, I think, but we fought it. That's why we can remember."

"Well deducted," came a voice from over their heads, the same voice from last night. Holly and Artemis started shouting at the same time.

"What did you do to us...?"

"...mesmerise us, you..."

"...the light..."

They paused and looked at each other. The voice spoke up in the brief silence.

"Shall we allow a fair grounding? Let Domovoi and Trouble recall last night's events?"

The two named sank to their knees as memories overcame them. The voice spoke again, sounding smug.

"Welcome Holly, Artemis, Trouble and Domovoi, to a world of unlimited power."


	3. Shopping

I'm sorry for the late update, blame my stupid A-level exams. All over now, so updates will be more frequent. Thanks to various people for bothreing me until I updated this, mostly RLD. This chapter is dedicated to TexasDreamer01, who made me feel better whilst in the throes of exam stress, and who told me to get a grip. Thanks so much.  
I'm aware that the title for theis chapter sucks. Any ideas?  
Usual disclaimer: I own the Guardian, and that's about it.

* * *

Trouble staggered to his feet and addressed the air in a somewhat shaky voice. "I'm all right, thanks. I don't trust you after you attacked us last night."

Butler also stood and made his way to Artemis's side, though how he was supposed to protect the boy from a disembodied voice, he wasn't certain. Holly spun in a circle, glaring at the sky in general.

"What did you do to us? Where are our clothes and equipment? What the D'Arvitting hell..."

The voice cut her off, its volume forcing them all to cover their ears.

"I granted you amazing gifts - a sort of rebirth, if you like. It destroyed all inorganic matter in a twenty metre radius, though I did attempt to preserve your dignity."

"Yeah, by shoving me in a tree."

The voice sounded annoyed when it spoke again. "If you continue to speak to me in such a manner, I will be forced to reconsider my decision. We will do this my way, or not at all."

Artemis stepped out from behind Butler and grabbed her arm; he let go very quickly.

"Gods, Holly, you're hot!"

Trouble grinned. "Isn't she?"

Holly punched him on the arm, and he gasped.

"Fowl's right, you're burning up!"

"She is a fire elemental; what did you expect?" the voice said, as if talking to a crèche of three year olds. "Now, if you will stop behaving like infants and listen to me..."

"I'm not doing this," Holly said, taking a step back and staring at the sky. "You can take your gift and go. And I want my gun back."

"The gift cannot be retracted," the voice said in a dark, threatening tone. "I said I would reconsider my decision, but I did not say what that meant. You can do this of your own free will...."

A streak of red light appeared in the sky and flew down to dance in front of Holly.

"...Or mine."

Holly's eyes grew wide and she swayed on the spot. Artemis, recalling what had happened the previous night, stepped in front of her, cutting off her eye contact with the light. She shook her head and blinked rapidly, shaking it off.

"Do we understand one another?" the voice asked. Holly nodded grudgingly.

"Yeah, I understand."

The light dissipated. The three men stood in a circle around Holly, Trouble asking her gently if she was alright; she nodded, but allowed him to hug her, which Artemis watched with a strange feeling in his gut. The voice was silent for several seconds. When it spoke again, its tone was back to normal.

"These gifts will help you in the days ahead. Wield them well, and work together, or everything you love both aboveground and below will cease to be."

Holly and Trouble sprang apart.

"Why; what do you mean?" Trouble asked, attempting to keep his tone as respectful as possible. He could have sworn that the voice sighed.

"I mean that you should listen to me. You are no longer purely elfin or purely human. You are elementals, the most powerful beings on or under this planet. Once in every generation, a new quartet is formed."

"Once in every human generation, or elfin?" Artemis interrupted.

"Elfin," the voice answered. "Do not interrupt me again. You and Domovoi are the first humans ever to be granted this power, and Holly is the first second-generation elemental. You are something entirely new, chosen for your bravery, quick-thinking, level-headedness and fast action. Prove to me that I chose wisely."

Holly waited until she was sure the voice was done before speaking.

"What do you mean, second-generation?"

"Coral Short was also one of the chosen. A fire elemental, like yourself."

"My mother?" Holly whispered, astonished. Trouble laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. She didn't notice.

"I will leave you to your thoughts," the voice decided, upon seeing Holly's stunned look. "I will return in an hour to give you your instructions."

The voice fell silent, leaving no audible sound except Holly's uneven breathing. Artemis looked at her, concerned.

"Are you all right?"

She blinked as if emerging from a trance, and nodded too quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

She ran a hand through her hair and sat down rather suddenly. The shirt rode up, showing the full expanse of her legs; she snapped out of her reverie and pulled it back down.

"We need some proper clothing," she muttered, glaring at Artemis, whose eyes had gone rather wide when the shirt pulled up. He blinked and looked away. Butler volunteered to head into Dublin to fetch some new clothes and Artemis went with him, half to escape the death-glares Holly was sending his way and half out of a desire to find clothing more to his taste. He really disliked jeans.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Trouble and Holly sat leaning against the tree, waiting for the humans to return. Artemis and Butler had been gone for about twenty minutes. Trouble looked over at Holly, who was playing with the hem of the shirt, lost in her thoughts. He flicked an acorn at her. She looked up at him, startled.

"What is it?"

"Are you all right?"

She nodded. "A little shell-shocked, but yeah. My mother... why wouldn't she tell me?"

"Maybe the voice was lying?" Trouble suggested, shuffling closer to her. She shook her head.

"No, I don't think so. I don't know why, but I get the feeling it wouldn't do that."

Trouble raised an eyebrow. "Intuition?"

"Something like that."

He draped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head on his chest, startling him. Sure, they flirted back and forth when off-duty, but he hadn't thought she'd actually respond to any advances he made. Did this count as an advance, though, or was she just drawing comfort from him? He spoke softly, confusion evident in his tone. Thankfully, Holly interpreted it as a response to the whole disembodied-voice/elemental-powers situation.

"Maybe she didn't want to scare you, or to draw attention to it. I mean, let's face it, if we told anyone belowground about this, they'd lock us up."

"True," she acknowledged. There was a brief silence. Holly sighed and sat upright again.

"What do you think we should do?"

"I think we should never tell a soul about this, and that includes Foaly. He's got the biggest mouth of anyone I've ever met."

Holly smiled. "No, I meant about the voice. Do we listen to it, or what?"

Trouble frowned and shrugged one shoulder. "It doesn't seem like we have much choice. Either we listen to it and obey, or it mesmerises us and we obey anyway. Talk about a catch twenty-two."

Holly hmm-ed in agreement, then chuckled. Trouble looked at her.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's not actually funny. I was just picturing Foaly's face – I mean, we've been out of contact for what, ten hours? The helmets and stuff got destroyed, so as far as he's concerned we're flat-lining. I was just trying to picture his face if he sends some sort of Retrieval team and they find us like this."

Trouble also chuckled at this. Yes, both their reputations would suffer rather a blow, but Foaly's expression would almost be worth it. They were still giggling together almost five minutes later when Butler and Artemis returned, laden with clothing. Artemis was once again dressed in a suit, and feeling much more comfortable. He dropped the bag he was holding by Holly's feet and eyed the pair of laughing elves curled up together on the grass. Again, there was that strange lurch in his stomach. He ignored it (with slight difficulty) and prodded the bag of clothing with his foot.

"This was all we could find that might fit."

Holly disentangled herself from Trouble's arm and rooted through the bag, a smile still gracing her features – until she pulled out a green tank top and a black skirt. Then she raised an eyebrow at Artemis.

"A skirt? Fowl, do I look like the kind of elf who goes around wearing these things?"

Trouble stood, picked up his own clothes and dodged behind the oak tree to dress. As much fun as it would be to watch Holy abuse the Mud Boy, he didn't much want to be in the line of fire himself. Holly, now turning her accusatory stare on Butler, didn't notice him leave.

"Please, tell me you had more sense that to provide me with just this."

Butler shrugged and produced a pair of denim jeans from the bag he was holding. Holly sighed, thanked him and waited impatiently for Trouble to emerge before darting behind the oak herself. Trouble handed Butler the suit trousers and a belt, which had been on the tightest setting to hold up the trousers. He was now dressed in a pair of jeans similar to Holly's and a brown shirt. Holly appeared after a relatively short amount of time and handed the creased shirt to Artemis.

"There might be a few grass stains on it – sorry about that."

Artemis nodded, trying hard not to think about what she and Trouble may have been doing in order to dye most of the shirt's back green. The voice interrupted his train of thought, for which he was thankful.

"If you are done with your clothing, I have your instructions."

"I thought you said an hour," Holly muttered under her breath. The voice still heard her.

"I changed my mind, Holly. You were not putting the time to productive use, so I shortened it. Now, your instructions."

Artemis glanced at her, feeling his stomach clench again. He was really going to have to get this emotion under control. The voice ignored his inner turmoil and continued to speak. "Shortly, there will be trouble brewing between the People and the humans. It is your duty to prevent this from turning into a full-blown disaster."

"We've managed to do that before now without these 'gifts'," Artemis pointed out, "and how do you know this ahead of time?"

A blue streak of light appeared in the sky, waving threateningly from side to side. Artemis closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"Do not interrupt me with pointless questions!" demanded the voice. Holly moved to stand in front of Artemis, as did Butler. Oddly, the voice was pleased at his reaction.

"That is good; you have already bonded well as a team. There is little work needed in that department. You have also discovered a certain amount of control over your abilities; even better. However, you need to have complete and utter control over yourselves and your gifts before this war develops."

"War?" Trouble blurted out, forgetting the 'no interruptions' rule. The blue light in the sky turned silver, and it was Trouble's turn to avert his eyes.

"I already said that, did I not? You are pivotal in this war, and if you do not cut it off at its beginning, then both fairies and humans are doomed. You must train with me."

The voice fell silent, and the sense of a fifth presence disappeared, along with the light in the sky. Holly moved away from Artemis and checked that Trouble was all right.

"A bit melodramatic, isn't it? 'You are all doomed'," the elf tried to joke. Holly wasn't fooled; she could see the worry and fear in his eyes. She squeezed his shoulder lightly and smiled at him, though she could feel herself that it was strained. Artemis stepped around Butler's bulk and faced the two elves.

"What did it mean, 'train with me'?" the boy asked. Holly and Trouble both shrugged at the same time, but got no opportunity to verbalise their doubts, as the air was once again rent by flashes of blue, red, green, and silver. The voice was mysteriously absent; however, the light was threatening enough.

All four covered their eyes, but the light wasn't there as a medium of control this time. Each steak covered its relevant elemental and bathed them in a glow of power. Then, all four lights winked out of existence, taking Butler, Artemis, Trouble, and Holly with them. The only signs that they had ever been there were two discarded bags of clothing left by the tree roots.

* * *

I know, cliffie. Please, don't kill me! I've had a couple of reviews asking about action in this story. There will be some, but not for a few chapters, due to training and stuff. I can actually say that without spoiling the story, yay! There will be a couple of action sequences, attempted murder (more than once and by more than one person), romance (various parings), arguments and general chaos.

In other news, the winning pairing is currently H/T. I will be running the poll for a further two chapters, so if you want to change it let me know. Your votes count. I sound like some sort of cheesy big brother ad, sorry. I'll stop.  
If you're looking for something else to read, try 'Coincidences or Incidents?' by alwaysbtheir. It's not got many reviewers, so help an author out, yeah? That also applies to my story. Thanks for reading!

Liris  
xxx


	4. Tutors

Hey, I'm back! Sorry for the wait, I'll make up for it with four new OC's (let me know what you think of them?) adn a few extra-long chapters. How's that?  
Skullduck: You know why she's late. It's because I wasn't there.  
Me: *groans* He's back. There goes the tranquility.  
Skullduck: Shut up. People missed me.  
Me: yeah, right. *rolls eyes* Anyway, discalimer. I actually own stuff, whoop! The Guardian and the OC's are mine. The story idea belongs to AH4EVER, and everything else belongs to Eoin Colfer.

* * *

**Six hours earlier**

In the Ops Booth, Foaly was having a panic attack. He'd been monitoring Retrieval team's mission to Italy on the big screen, watching the normally calm Captain Vein completely lose his temper at Grub Kelp, who had apparently shot himself in the foot by accident. The centaur chuckled at the look on Grub's face. The Corporal uttered a string of excuses, the only word of which anyone could make out was 'Mummy'. This started Captain Vein off again, delivering a lecture about responsibility, intelligence, and Grub's lack thereof. Foaly decided at this point to leave them to it – the rest of the team would fill him in when they got back belowground – and check on Trouble and Holly. He had their data on a small side-screen, as they were only meeting Artemis. They were both professionals, and they were both armed to the teeth. What could go wrong?

Apparently, everything. As Foaly looked at the screen, all Trouble's vital signs flat-lined as one. Holly's stress levels spiked, then her life signs dropped to nothing also. Foaly was thrown back four years to the whole Zito-probe incident, and Julius's death. Not another Commander. Not Holly, not again. He snapped out of it, and pulled up the life-readings from their suits. Again, flat lines. A sob escaped his lips before he pulled himself together. They couldn't be gone, it wasn't possible. He reopened the channel to Captain Vein, who was still bellowing himself hoarse at Grub Kelp. Foaly interrupted him mid-rant, not caring about the breach of protocol and not even pausing to say hello. Vein jumped two feet in the air when the centaur began whinnying in his ear unexpectedly.

"Captain, we have a major problem. I need you and the entire Retrieval team to get over to Ireland, now!"

Captain Vein paled. The centaur was almost crying; what the hell had happened?

"Foaly? What's the emergency, what's going on?"

"If we're lucky, a major computer glitch."

Vein started his wings and led his troupe into the sky. This was not going to be good, he could feel it. If the technology-mad centaur was hoping that there was a fault in his system...

"And if we're not lucky?"

Foaly took two deep breaths to calm his nerves, then spoke almost in a whisper.

"The Commander's vital signs all just flat-lined. Captain Short's too."

The entire team sucked in a breath as one. This was bad; this was very, very bad.

LEP regulations stated that under no circumstances was a fairy to fly over any major human population. Nor were they supposed to fly too high or too quickly – the humans had radar now, and might mistake them for some sort of UFO. Vein ignored the rulebook completely and opened the throttle to maximum, streaking across the sky like lightning. The rest of the team followed, one of the junior elves comforting Grub, who had frozen at Foaly's words.

"It's going to be alright, it's probably just a computer glitch."

Grub looked at the elf with red eyes.

"Really?"

The elf nodded and pulled Grub across the sky faster. Vein noticed this and vowed to get the elf a promotion when they got back belowground. Anyone who could shut Grub up without tempting him to make a complaint deserved a higher rank than Corporal.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

**Current time**

Holly, Artemis, Butler, and Trouble all fell to their knees, gasping. The light had picked them up, but instead of knocking them out and destroying their clothes as it had before, it had flashed very brightly, blinding them even through their closed eyelids. Then there had been a feeling of compression, as if some giant hand was squeezing them. Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. The quartet looked up from where the light had dropped them and found that they were no longer under the oak tree. It was doubtful that they were even still in Ireland. Trouble was the first to climb to his feet, looking around the room they were in. White walls, white ceiling, white floor. No windows, and one door opposite him, also white. He tried the handle, cursing when it wouldn't turn although he hadn't really expected it to be unlocked.

Butler was the next to move. He pulled Artemis to his feet, brushing nonexistent dirt off the boy's suit and checking for injuries. Artemis shrugged free of his bodyguard's grip and turned to Holly, who was still kneeling on the floor. She was staring at something on one of the walls; Artemis followed her gaze and sucked in a startled breath. The wall opposite the door was lined with framed photographs of elves, sprites, and even a couple of dwarves. All were smiling, and all were exhibiting some sort of elemental power. Holly's gaze was fixed on one particular picture. Artemis studied it also. The elf in the photo was female, twirling a fireball above her fist, and looked to be laughing. Artemis's eyes went wide. Apart from the fact that the elf in the photo had longer hair, he could have been looking at Holly. He turned to see that she had climbed to her feet, though her eyes had not left the image on the wall. She took a couple of steps and stroked the elf's face with her fingertips.

"Mother," she whispered. Trouble put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned at his touch.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded and smiled.

"Yeah."

She sounded like she meant it, too. There was a brief silence, then she spoke again, walking away from her mother's image and looking around the room at the other photographs.

"Where did the voice go?"

"Right here."

Holly jumped and spun to face the door, which was now open. A figure stood in the shadows just beyond the room. It looked to be a fairy; it had the right proportions for an elf, or maybe a sprite. It spoke again, moving into the light.

"My name is not 'voice'. You may call me Guardian."

Butler eyed the diminutive figure before him. The Guardian was indeed a fairy, though what species was difficult to determine. It had pointed ears, gossamer wings like a sprite, the thin elfin figure, and the wide pixie brow. There was something of a dwarf about its teeth, and there were several small green scales visible around its deep brown eyes. It had long blonde hair, yet was still noticeably neither male nor female – its hair was in a rather unisex style, pulled back off its face in the low ponytail favoured by teenage girls and middle-aged bikers everywhere. It smiled and addressed the silent quartet.

"You are here to begin your training. The more effort you put in, the faster you can return to your lives on and under the Earth."

Artemis took a step forward, interested.

"You have taken us out of time? Another dimension possibly?"

The Guardian looked impressed.

"Correct. This place runs in a similar way to the demon Hybras, only without the uncontrollable time fluctuations."

"So we can return a few minutes after we left, regardless of how long we spend here," Artemis finished, looking satisfied. He saw the look that the elves were giving him, and shrugged.

"It wasn't hard to work out."

"Not for you, maybe. For us non-geniuses..." Trouble began. Artemis interrupted him with a correction.

"Genii."

Trouble glared at him.

"Whatever, Fowl. Could you explain why we are here, and where 'here' even is?"

"You are here to train, I have already said," the Guardian took over the narrative. "As to where we are – nowhere, and everywhere."

"Great," Holly muttered, "more riddles."

The Guardian narrowed its eyes at her before continuing.

"Your training will be on an individual and team basis, and will be intensive."

"When do we start?" Artemis asked, dreading the physical aspect that he assumed would make up part of this 'training'. The Guardian gestured through the doorway.

"Right now. Follow me."

The four glanced at each other. How much did they trust this Guardian? Enough to follow it? And, more to the point, what choice did they have? Holly was the first to move. She cast one more glance at her mother's picture and made to follow the Guardian out the door. Trouble grabbed her arm, thankful that her skin had resumed its normal temperature.

"What are you doing? After what that thing did, you don't trust it?"

"I trust my mother," she said simply, pulling free of his grip and leaving the room. Artemis followed her, Butler trailing behind his charge. Trouble growled, but shook his head and joined the strange procession. The door slammed shut behind him. He glanced back at it and swallowed. They were committed now, whatever happened.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

**Four hours earlier**

After breaking at least twenty LEP regulations into smithereens, the Retrieval team alighted at the oak tree Foaly had guided them to. There was nothing and nobody there, yet none of the team could shake the feeling that there was something else going on here. Something invisible. Vein scanned the area with every filter in his helmet, and got nothing. They were the only beings on site. Grub hiccupped. He'd been doing that the whole flight over from Italy. At least it was better than snivelling, crying, or complaining, though Vein was sure it would get annoying eventually. The team spread out, weapons raised and senses on red alert. This was the last known location of their Commander and Holly Short; there had to be some sort of evidence lying around somewhere. Abduction, murder – both left traces of their occurrence. There was no such thing as the perfect crime, not with Foaly's technology on your tail.

One of the team suddenly stopped dead, staring at a point in the sky.

"Captain?" he called, sounding very uncertain. Vein double-timed to his side.

"What is it, Corporal?"

The elf just gestured at the air with his Neutrino. There was a semi-visible shimmer, like when a fairy shields, only this had colour. It seemed to shift between red, green, blue and silver, but when Vein flew up to it he passed straight through it. He sighed and rejoined his men on the ground.

"Pack it up and let's head belowground, boys. We'll pick this up later."

It was almost dawn by now, and Foaly was sullenly ordering them back underground. It was regulation, but none of them liked it much. Trouble and Holly were on their own for another day, if they were still alive. Retrieval started up their wings and headed for Tara, ignoring Grub's whimpering and Foaly's badly-concealed sobs in their earpieces.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

**Current time**

The Guardian led the four elves and humans down a long corridor with many doors branching off it. The walls were, again, plain white, but the doors were painted a variety of colours: gold, red, blue, green, silver, purple, and many more that even Artemis didn't have names for. Eventually, the Guardian stopped. They were at the end of the corridor, and facing them was a large black door. Even Butler would fit though this with room to spare. Currently, his head was millimetres from touching the ceiling, but at least he could stand upright. Artemis wasn't certain how a door at least five metres tall sat at the end of a corridor barely two metres high without the ceiling having any sort of slant whatsoever, but he wasn't going to admit this. It was probably just more inter-dimensional physics that he had yet to comprehend. The Guardian appraised them all silently for several moments, then pushed the door open.

"Welcome to your future," it said, waving for them to enter. Trouble rolled his eyes. Talk about melodrama. Still, he followed the other three through the doorway.

They emerged into a large, circular room with intricate mosaics on the ceiling and floor. The Guardian shut the door behind them and stood with them in the centre of the room. Suddenly, flame torches sprang into life around the walls, casting a golden glow. Trouble, Artemis, and Butler looked at Holly, who shook her head.

"Wasn't me."

"No, it was me," said a distinctly masculine voice from behind them. They all jumped and turned to see a young, very handsome elf standing three metres away from them. He smiled at Holly, showing very white, even teeth, and strode over to her side, hand extended. She shook it hesitantly. The Guardian sighed.

"Holly, this is Edan. He will be your tutor."

"Tutor?" Holly asked. Edan smiled and nodded, not letting go of her hand.

"I'm going to help you control and refine your abilities, Holly. I trained with your mother also; you are every bit as beautiful as she." He bent down and kissed the back of her hand lightly, eyes rolled up to see her reaction. The look on her face was halfway between confusion and enchantment. He smiled and straightened. "It will be a pleasure to work with you."

Both Trouble and Artemis noticed Holly's reaction to Edan, and gritted their teeth as one. Butler chuckled, bringing all of them out of their reveries. Holly blushed, Edan loosed her hand, and the Guardian sighed again.

"Domovoi, this is Terran. She will be your tutor."

It gestured behind Butler. He turned to see a tiny female dwarf smiling at him appraisingly. She was also young looking, and not as hairy as one would imagine a dwarf to be. But of course, females of any species are generally smoother than their male counterparts, especially when Mulch is the only specimen you have for comparison. Artemis nodded knowingly, forcibly removing his mind from Holly. Of course, the Earth tutor would be a dwarf.

The Guardian pointed to the opposite side of the room, where a sprite hovered two feet above the ground. Air tutor, Artemis guessed correctly.

"Trouble, this is Caitir. She will be your tutor."

Trouble nodded to the pretty sprite, who nodded back, smiling widely. _Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad experience after all._ Suddenly Trouble could appreciate Holly's blush – his matched it and he glanced down. Holly noticed and smirked. Commander or not, she was going to rib him for that later.

Artemis ignored the not-so-surreptitious flirting going on, and looked around the room for his tutor. There was a figure standing behind Edan, but the muscular elf was blocking too much of the light for the boy to make out who, or what, it was. The Guardian gestured to the shadowy figure, beckoning them to step out of the only shade in the room. Another elf stepped out, appraising Artemis from head to toe.

"Artemis, this is Kelby. He will be your tutor."

Artemis took a step towards the skinny elf and extended a hand. Kelby shook it grudgingly, glaring at the boy. Artemis wasn't sure what he'd done to elicit this reaction – people didn't normally dislike him until he'd spoken to them. He removed his hand as soon as was polite. The Guardian either didn't notice the hostility between the two or didn't much care, for it spoke, addressing all eight of the others at once.

"Now that you have all been introduced to your respective partners, I would like to re-establish the rules. Meals will be held in here twice daily, at noon and at eight o'clock at night. For the eight hours in between, you will be training with your partners. The other time is social and you may spend it as you wish. Time moves here the same way as on Earth, but you can spend up to a year in these halls without more than ten seconds passing in the mortal world. You will remain until you are all competent enough to take on the task facing you back on Earth. Good luck."

* * *

Training begins next chapter, complete with aches, pains and a very unhappy Artemis.  
Skullduck: Becasue she likes to torture the characters.  
Me: It's fun!  
Skullduck: And she calles me evil.  
Me: You are. Anyway, don't forget about the poll thing - You've got one more chapter to vote. H/T is currently winning by one vote. In the event of a tie, the desicion falls to RLD, because she's the most awesome beta ever. Thanks for putting up with my ramblings.

Liris (and Skullduck)  
xxx


	5. Training

Ok, as promised, training! And many, many pairings. I have , however, drawn the poll to a close, and the winner is... to be announced at the end of this really long (for me) chapter. Thanks for reading, and please, enjoy! RLD, you're the best beta ever, thank you!  
Disclaimer: I own nothing.

* * *

Butler and Terran sat opposite each other on a beautiful green lawn, legs crossed and eyes closed. The dwarf had been delighted at the manservant's knowledge of meditation and self-control, and had spent several minutes circling him, eyes probing past the suit and the shaven head. He had the uncomfortable feeling that she was reading his mind, though he knew it was impossible. Then again, so was having elemental powers granted to you by a mysterious voice. He really shouldn't be throwing that word around so much.

Terran inhaled slowly through her nose, then opened her eyes and instructed Butler to do the same.

"The Earth is a living creature," she said, voice melodic. "As such, it deserves as much respect as any of the creatures scurrying about either above or below it. You have the incredible gift of being able to commune with it, and allowing growth of both it and yourself. Listen to me well, and I can help you to manage this gift."

She swept a hand over the ground, causing several deep lilac flowers to sprout.

"It will take effort and dedication, but if you are prepared the rewards are great."

Butler nodded. Terran smiled and closed her eyes again, talking softly to the manservant about the properties the Earth spirit held. Butler smiled and closed his own eyes, listening to her. Apparently, training was mostly gathering knowledge. Artemis should be alright then.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Artemis was anything but alright. Kelby had led him out of the circular room, back down the corridor with many coloured doors, and entered a room with a turquoise door. Butler, who was in a room opposite and three doors to the left, nodded to the boy.

"If you need me, I'm in here."

Terran had touched his calf (the highest point she could reach) and quietly reassured the bodyguard that they were in no danger here. Only the Guardian could allow people in or out. Butler had followed her into the room, closing the teal door behind him. The boy sighed and followed his own tutor into the isolation of the training room.

The room consisted of a large lake. Again, it was out of proportion to the size of the room apparent from the outside, and Artemis was reminded of the TARDIS from Doctor Who. Kelby strode around the body of water until he was facing the boy.

"The element of water is a pure, delicate one," he barked, sounding anything but the qualities he'd just described. "As such, I do not expect a Mud Man like yourself to grasp the tranquillity necessary to deal with it."

So that was it – the elf didn't like him because he was human. Well, maybe Kelby had a few things wrong. Artemis Fowl knew tranquillity; it was necessary for him to come up with his plans. He smiled at the thought of Holly attempting to be tranquil – now that would cause problems. Kelby misinterpreted his grin.

"This is no laughing matter, human! I have been held responsible for training you, so I will, but I will not go easier on you because of your species!"

With that, he swept one arm towards the boy, drenching Artemis in lake water. Artemis raked his sopping hair from his eyes. It was going to be a long training session.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Trouble was faring infinitely better than Artemis, mostly because his tutor wasn't prejudiced against him. Caitir led him through a door painted a sort of shimmering silver colour that he didn't really have a name for, and settled herself on the floor, in the lotus position. Trouble imitated her, and she smiled.

"You are the air representative of your generation. I assume that you can be rather flighty, prone to jumping from task to task, never quite settling on any one thing."

Trouble opened his mouth to protest, but she carried on regardless.

"This is how our training will take place, a bit of everything all at once. Your friends will train differently, mastering one thing before beginning another, but that is not the way our gifts work. A little of all will give you a better grounding once we begin harder tasks. Shall we begin?"

She jumped lithely to her feet, the moment of serenity over. Trouble climbed to his more slowly and much less agilely. She tutted.

"We'll have to get you in better shape than that. You must be able to dance like the breeze!"

She pirouetted once to demonstrate. Trouble just looked at her, once again coming to the conclusion that of all the things Holly had dragged him into, this was probably the worst.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Holly followed Edan through a vivid scarlet door into a plain circular room. The walls and floor were matte black marble, and there were mannequins piled by the wall opposite the door. He stepped into the centre of the room and gestured for her to join him.

"Fire elementals are generally hot-headed, prone to bursts of anger and violence. And, of course, we like to show off."

He produced a fireball by clicking his fingers, then moved his hands in a complicated rhythm, making the flame zoom around the room in an elegant swirling pattern. Holly watched, impressed. Edan smiled at her and called the fire back to his hand, quenching it with his fist.

"So," he said, grinning at her with those white teeth, "ready to show off for me?"

She grinned back, always up for a challenge.

"You lead, I'll follow."

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Eight o'clock came quickly. Kelby and Artemis were the first to abandon training and return to the circular room. This time, there were two tables for four set out, and a buffet bar in between them. All the food was vegetarian, with the exception of a few dishes made from what resembled crickets. Artemis helped himself to some salad, treating the insects with the contempt he felt they deserved. He was wet, bruised, and irritated by his lack of instant aptitude. He was not used to not being able to do things. He sat at the table where Kelby wasn't, and proceeded to pick at his lettuce.

The boy wasn't left alone for long; Trouble and Caitir soon put in an appearance, helped themselves to food, and joined their respective tables. Trouble looked almost as tired as Artemis felt. Despite his peak fitness levels, Caitir had run circles around him, helped by her wings and ability to manipulate the air. Still, he could now balance on his toes for three consecutive minutes without falling over, or even wobbling. Caitir felt like they'd achieved something, even if Trouble wasn't convinced. Why would he need to stand on his toes for that long? It made no sense.

Butler was the next to enter the room, followed (though you couldn't see her behind his bulk) by Terran. Terran piled her plate high with some sort of cricket stew and sat next to Kelby, immediately launching into a conversation about meditation and anger management. Artemis supposed that she'd seen his current saturated state. Butler ignored the chair provided for him; his knees would be up beside his ears, and his head would still be too far above the table. Instead he knelt next to Artemis and asked how training had gone. Artemis noticed the concern in the bodyguard's tone even if no one else would have. He sighed.

"It could have been better," he replied, loathe to say more in case Kelby heard him. Butler turned to Trouble, and they began comparing teaching methods and powers. Trouble complained that his toes were still sore, despite his magic healing them.

"At least you have magic," Artemis muttered. "I have bruises that are going to take days to heal."

Trouble eyed the boy, as though unsure whether to offer him help or laugh at his misery. Trouble still hadn't quite forgiven Artemis for the whole time-travel-Opal-escaping thing.

Ten minutes passed with no sign of Holly or Edan. Artemis checked his watch surreptitiously. It read three am. Either it was broken, or it was set to Earth time. Not much help, whichever it was.

Holly eventually returned to the hall, smiling and looking pleased. Edan followed her in closely, muttering something the others couldn't hear to her. She laughed and accompanied him to the buffet table, allowing him to point out what was apparently 'the best vole curry in any dimension'. She refused it on the grounds that it wasn't vegetarian, piled a plate with salad as Artemis had and joined them at their table. Her eyes widened when she saw the state Artemis was in.

"What the heck happened to you?" she asked, placing her plate at the last free spot on the table. The boy muttered something about training, and Holly chuckled. Edan appeared at her shoulder, gesturing to Artemis.

"Why don't you try out what I just showed you?"

Holly looked startled but nodded, laying a hand on the boy's arm and closing her eyes. He felt heat where her hand touched him, and steam began to rise from his sleeve. The heat spread across his torso, drying his suit and skin. He looked like he was on fire with all the steam rising from him, but at least he was dry. Holly opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"How's that?"

Edan nodded.

"Good. A bit too much steam, but not bad."

She elbowed him and sat down.

"I wasn't asking you."

Both Artemis and Trouble raised their eyes at her tone. It wasn't the snappy, demanding tone she used with them, it was teasing. The look Edan gave her in return made them both turn back to their plates, feeling more depressed than before.

"Sorry," the tutor replied, not sounding it at all. He returned to his own table and began talking to Caitir. Holly, who had apparently noticed nothing odd about her own behaviour, began eating. She noticed the look Butler was giving her, and narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?"

"Nothing," the manservant said innocently. If she didn't realise what she was doing, then he wasn't going to interfere.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

They had all finished eating when the Guardian once again put in an appearance. It walked through the black door, noticed their empty plates and the myriad of expressions, ranging from upbeat (Edan) to downright depressed (Trouble). It turned to the table where Holly was having a discussion with Butler about training styles. Apparently, the two of them had thrown themselves into it, whilst Trouble and Artemis were much more reluctant. The Guardian clapped once for their attention, then spoke, ignoring the continuing conversation at the other table.

"You have all been introduced to your potential, and you have eaten your fill. There will be no more training tonight; you may retire to your rooms."

Edan was at the Guardian's shoulder in seconds.

"I'll show them."

The Guardian pondered this, as if doubting the wisdom of it, before nodding once.

"Alright. I'll leave you in Edan's capable hands."

It turned and took the elf's vacated place at the tutor's table, joining in the conversation, which was being spoken in such rapid Gnommish that even Trouble and Holly would have had difficulty keeping track. Edan waited for the four of them to rise before leading them out of the circular room, walking very close to Holly. He led them halfway down the corridor, pushed open a purple door and ushered them through. Beyond was another, smaller corridor, this time carpeted. The deep-pile throw under their feet was a light blue, the same colour as one of Artemis and Holly's eyes. There were nine doors leading off this corridor, four on either side and one at the end, which Edan told them led to the shared bathroom. Holly eyed her companions dubiously. Edan chuckled.

"It's split – guys to the left, gorgeous girls to the right."

Artemis rolled his eyes, Trouble mimed throwing up, and Butler smirked. Holly wasn't too taken with the line either.

"And what about average girls?"

Edan sighed.

"To the right."

He paused halfway down the corridor and pointed at the doors on the left-hand wall.

"These are your rooms. You may pick whichever ones you want, but stay on that side of the corridor. Mine, Caitir's, Terran's, and Kelby's rooms are opposite."

He hung around, no doubt (Artemis thought) to see which room Holly picked. None of them moved. Edan sighed and pushed Trouble gently on the shoulder.

"They won't blow up if you look inside."

Trouble rolled his eyes and opened the nearest door. The room inside was painted a pale blue, the same as the carpet out here, and was again much larger than should have been possible. Trouble took two steps inside and grimaced. He wasn't much for the blue.

"They're all like that," Edan supplied. Artemis shook his head.

"Then what was the point in offering a choice?"

Edan shrugged one shoulder, clicking his fingers and allowing a small fireball to hover over his head. Holly rolled her eyes and opened the door closest to her. The room was identical to Trouble's in every respect. Edan smiled at her.

"Good choice. Mine is the one facing it."

Apparently satisfied, he left the four alone to make their choices. Holly watched him go, unsure what to make of him. Sure, he was a good teacher, not caring for her gender like most other big-headed males she'd worked with, and he was handsome – gods was he handsome – but she'd never been one to go for muscles and glamour. Not after the initial oh-my-god-look-at-him kind of reaction all women had, anyway. She looked over at Trouble, who was glaring at the door Edan had just left through as though it was personally responsible for Spelltropy, the Battle of Taillte, and the Goblin uprising.

"Want to swap rooms?" she asked. Artemis raised an eyebrow as they swapped. Apparently Holly wasn't as taken with Edan as he had believed. He quickly procured the empty room on the other side of Holly's, leaving Butler to the room nearest the bathroom. _At least it was next to Artemis's_, mused the bodyguard, smiling to himself. Holly noticed his grin and gave him a suspicious look before deciding to drop it.

"Night," she said, withdrawing into her room. The three males remained in the corridor for a few seconds in silence before deciding that they too were tired. Three doors closed behind them almost in unison.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Artemis woke at nine the next morning. He'd found a clock that actually worked in his room, and had recalibrated his wristwatch to the right time. He'd also found a wardrobe stocked with unisex items of clothing, mostly in black and white. Evidently, only the doors were allowed to look colourful.

Artemis slid out of bed and stretched, yawning. He winced as he felt the bruises Kelby had inflicted on him yesterday protest at the stretching. He had three hours until there would be food available and nothing to do until then, so he decided that he may as well explore. Starting with the showers. He opened the door to his room gingerly. The corridor was deserted. He quickly gathered some clothes for the day and slipped out, heading past Butler's room towards the bathroom door. He entered and walked straight into Holly.

"Watch where you're going, Fowl!" she snapped, picking her towel up off the floor. Artemis blushed and held his own towel to his waist, covering his boxers and most of his legs. Holly smirked as she straightened.

"I've seen it before, Artemis. Time travel, remember?"

He nodded, but didn't move the towel. Before, they'd both been embarrassed and mostly naked. Holly was now fully dressed in a black t-shirt and trousers, though he could still see beads of water on her collarbone, presumably from her still-damp hair. Holly shook her head, noticing the dark patches on his ribs.

"Rough training yesterday?" she asked, laying a hand on his torso and healing him. He could only nod, unsure whether to be embarrassed or happy that she was touching him. She removed her hand and smirked at his confused expression.

"I'll leave you be. Left, remember."

Artemis watched her go before darting to the left side of the partition in front of him. To his horror, Kelby was in there, just emerging from one of three shower cubicles. The elf glared at Artemis and stalked past him, leaving the bathroom. He'd really have to see what he could do to make friends with the elf, if only to prevent a thorough beating each day.

Artemis soon forgot about his tutor once he stepped under the hot shower. It massaged his aching back, teasing the kinks from his muscles. He ended up having what was quite possibly the longest shower of his life, mostly because he was experimenting with manipulating the water. He could get it to splash about, but nothing more dramatic.

The previous day, Kelby had made shapes out of the lake water, keeping it in the air through sheer force of will. Artemis gritted his teeth and gave up – all he was managing to do was get his towel prematurely wet as water splashed over the partition. By the time he had dressed and emerged from the bathroom, everyone else was up. Butler was waiting for him.

"Morning, Artemis."

Artemis nodded, a little preoccupied by the sudden appearance of Edan. The elf strode out of his room, dressed in a pair of black slacks, but nothing else, and rapped on the door opposite. Trouble stuck his head out and eyed the surprised elf in front of him.

"Yes?"

Edan frowned.

"Isn't Holly...?"

At that moment, Holly emerged from her room. Edan looked her up and down, injecting as much hurt into his face and tone as possible.

"You switched rooms?"

Holly stopped dead, not sure how to proceed. Trouble rolled his eyes and withdrew into his room to return to his book. There was still an hour and a half to kill before there would be any sort of food provided, and he had found a collection of Gnommish books in his room. They were actually a translation of the James Bond books by the human author Ian Flemming, but they were still good.

Edan recovered quickly from his ostensibly hurt feelings.

"I was wondering if you wanted to start training earlier today. There's something I want to show you."

"Can't it wait?"

"It looks better before noon," he explained. Holly was still mystified, but agreed to accompany him. Artemis watched them leave with a sour expression on his face. Butler couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" the boy sulked. Butler attempted to form an answer that would make sense to his employer. Artemis may be a genius, but he was still clueless about the opposite sex.

"The way you're watching Holly and Edan. You almost look jealous."

Artemis rearranged his facial features to appear aloof rather than confused.

"I'm not jealous, Butler. Why would I be? They're just training, that's all."

Butler got the distinct impression that Artemis was trying to convince himself rather than anyone else, but he decided to drop it. In any case, Artemis had left for the round room. There may be eighty-odd minutes until it would be necessary, but he wanted to get away from company and clear his head. His room's door did not have a lock on it, and he didn't want to be disturbed. The circular room would likely be empty for a while, so it seemed like a good place to go. He left the corridor and almost walked into Edan. The elf sidestepped before they collided.

"Careful there, Artemis is it?"

Edan nodded, looking thoughtful.

"Holly's been talking about you. Well, about Kelby actually. If he's giving you a rough time, I could have a word with him..."

Artemis wasn't certain what to make of this information. Holly had jumped to her own conclusions – presumably from the bruises this morning – and had spoken to Edan about it. It didn't matter that she was correct, it still irritated the boy. Did she think that he couldn't stand up for himself, or was it concern for his wellbeing? Either way, he wasn't going to ask for help from Edan. He could handle his own problems.

"No, that's alright. Where is Holly?"

Edan had returned alone, Artemis noticed. The elf pointed to a door painted azure blue. Artemis thanked him and entered, shutting the door silently behind him. He took in the room and let out a muted 'wow'. There was a cobalt sky above him, with a scattering of clouds across the distance. Under his feet was grass so emerald green he was sure it had to be artificial, yet when he bent to touch it, it was soft and springy with the damp remnant of morning dew still on the blades. In front of him was a magnificent oak tree, at least twenty feet tall, standing in the bend of a quietly flowing river. This 'room' too was ridiculously out of proportion to the space indicated by the width of the doors, and when he turned the pale white wall looked out of place. It stretched seemingly endless to either side of the blue door. He turned back around and strolled to the riverbank, where Holly sat dipping her feet in the water. The oak tree shaded her from the sun, but its brilliance still sparkled in her hair, picking out strands of red, gold, and brown. Artemis sat next to her, but kept his feet on dry land. She opened one eye lazily and looked at him.

"I guess we don't need to worry about the Ritual," she said, smiling. Artemis nodded.

"Or the sun, apparently."

"That's because of the elemental magic, Edan said. Sunlight won't affect us anymore."

"Useful," muttered the boy. Holly picked up on his tone and opened both eyes, turning to face him properly.

"Artemis? What's wrong?"

"You asked Edan to talk to Kelby?"

Holly frowned.

"You looked in bad shape this morning; I just mentioned it to him."

"I can handle this myself," Artemis said, realising the snap in his voice too late. Holly's expression hardened.

"Well, sorry for caring. I won't bother next time."

She stood and reclaimed her shoes. Artemis tried to pacify her.

"I didn't mean it like that – Holly, wait!"

But she'd already left, not bothering to put her shoes on before leaving the room. Artemis followed her, but she was back in her room before he'd even left the riverbank. He knocked on her door; she didn't answer. He rolled his eyes and stomped back to his own room, sitting on the bed and eyeing the clock. She had such severe mood swings.

He supposed it was a female thing; Minerva could be the same when they were speaking over the webcam. Butler had insisted that he get back in contact with the French girl, and Artemis was actually glad that he had. Finally, he had someone with whom he could debate properly, someone who actually understood what he was talking about instead of nodding along and letting it go over their heads.

He still had an hour to pass somehow. He lay back on the bed, letting his legs dangle over the edge, and sighed. There was a mark on the ceiling – it looked like a scorch mark. Probably a fire elemental had been in here at some point. He closed his eyes. This was going to be a long hour.

* * *

So, Arty and Holly are fighting again. It seems to be the foundation of their relationship, doesn't it? Dpn't worry, it will be rectified soon. It has to be, as the winning pairing, by 1 votre, is H/A. The others will still be in there, but the overall outcome will be A/H. Thanks to everyone who voted.  
Next chapter: arguments, reconciliation, and some very bad espionage. See you then!

Liris  
xxx


	6. Really Bad Espionage

Carrying directly on from last chapter...  
I own NOTHING!!!  
RLD is officially the best beta in the history of fanfics.

* * *

Artemis was not the last one to arrive in the round room, despite leaving his room five minutes late. He'd found a small pile of Gnommish novels, and had managed to engross himself in one of the tales. All the tutors were already in the room, eating. Edan nodded to him when he entered, but Kelby firmly ignored him. Artemis helped himself to the buffet again, registering the subtle difference in the meals from last night to now. Where before there had been vole curry, there was now a steaming pile of bacon. Artemis wasn't certain why there would be bacon at a fairy table, but he took some anyway. He sat at the same table as before between Butler and Trouble. Holly walked in a couple of minutes later.

Edan called out to her. "There you are. We were about to send a search party."

"I was preoccupied," she said, filling a plate and sitting in the last free spot. Despite the fact that she sat opposite Artemis, she didn't glance at the boy even once. Trouble raised an eyebrow at him.

"What did you do, Fowl?"

Artemis was saved from answering by the Guardian walking into the room and clearing its throat.

"I hope you all slept well, and passed the time this morning productively."

Artemis, Butler, Holly and Trouble waited for it to say more, but it turned to the tutors and struck up a conversation in Gnommish. They were speaking too quietly for any of the tutees to make out what was being said and whatever it was, was over quickly. The Guardian moved back to the centre of the room and addressed them all once more.

"You have another five minutes, and then it will be time for your training to recommence."

It turned on its heel and strode out. Butler raised an eyebrow.

"A little abrupt."

Artemis nodded and resumed eating. Holly still hadn't looked at him. She ate fast, stood, and joined Edan.

"Shall we?" she asked, still resolutely keeping her eyes off the human boy. Edan nodded and they left together. Trouble slapped the table in front of Artemis, jolting the boy's eyes to meet his own.

"What did you do, Fowl?"

The boy was once more saved answering by Kelby's appearance at the table.

"Same room as yesterday, two minutes," the elf barked before stalking out of the room. Artemis pushed his plate away. Suddenly, he wasn't hungry.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Artemis and Kelby were once again the first pair to stop practicing. The buffet was the same as the previous evening and, like before, they sat at opposite tables in silence, picking at their food. Artemis saw a pattern emerging.

Within the next five minutes the other three pairs had joined them, and both tables were once again full. Holly sat opposite Artemis, and though she now deigned to glance at him, she still wasn't talking to him. Artemis sighed and, after a meaningful glance from Butler and a kick from Trouble, spoke to her. He pitched his voice so that it would reach her, but wouldn't float over to the tutor table.

"Look, Holly, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not upset, Fowl," she retorted, keeping her eyes on the lettuce leaf she was ripping apart. "I'm angry. If you want to self-harm, that's up to you, just don't shoot me down because of some stupid male pride. I was trying to help."

"I know you were," he said, tone placating and a little patronising. It was the latter that made her look up. Artemis was staring at his plate, mumbling an apology that included a lot of very complex explanatory words. Holly pretended to listen to him for a few seconds, then interrupted.

"If that means that it wasn't pride, don't lie to me. You, Fowl, are one of the worst I've ever met for pride. It has a place, and getting beaten to a pulp is not it."

Artemis looked up but decided not to reply. The look in her eyes was not particularly friendly, and he had no desire to get hit. Trouble was glancing between the two, not certain whether he liked that they were arguing or not. He cleared his throat and spoke to Holly, not bothering to keep his voice low.

"What did he do?"

Holly looked at her Commander and shrugged.

"He's human."

Trouble took this as an explanation, which shocked Artemis. His species was a reason for callous behaviour? True, humans in general may be like that, but he had thought that Holly, at least, knew him better than that.

Edan stood and wound his way over to Holly's side. From the way his path weaved, Artemis guessed that his drink was somewhat alcoholic.

"I'm going back to the practice room. Come join me later?"

Holly nodded.

"Sure. Let me finish here and I'll be right there."

Edan nodded and left, path a little straighter, looking very pleased with himself. Both Artemis and Trouble glared at his retreating back. Butler let them glare and spoke to Holly.

""What was that about?"

"We didn't quite finish earlier."

"You've had eight hours," Trouble said incredulously. Holly just shrugged and ate the last bite on her plate. Artemis shook his head.

"I didn't think fairies were supposed to drink alcohol with humans. Doesn't it negate some magical contract or something?"

Holly rolled her eyes.

"Firstly, he wasn't exactly drinking _with_ you, was he? Also, in case you haven't noticed, none of the usual rules apply here."

She stood and followed Edan out of the hall. Trouble waited until she was out of sight, then pushed his plate away and stood also.

"What are you doing?" Butler asked. Trouble hadn't finished eating. The elf looked at him with an isn't-it-obvious expression.

"Aren't you the tiniest bit curious as to what they're doing?"

Butler shrugged and began eating again. Trouble left, and Artemis rose. Butler groaned into his food.

"Not you too. Give her some privacy, will you?"

"I wasn't going to check on Holly," Artemis lied indignantly. Butler wasn't fooled. The boy turned and almost walked into Terran. The dwarf gazed up at him, smiling.

"Do not worry, Artemis. She is a fire element, as is he. They cannot coexist for long without burning each other up."

Artemis didn't like it when people read him. Then again, he was being pretty transparent right now.

"An elf and a human? Puh-lease," Kirby said, passing them on his way out. Artemis gritted his teeth. Apparently, he was being very transparent. Holly either hadn't noticed or didn't care. He didn't like the latter idea very much. Terran patted his kneecap.

"Odd as it may sound, fire and water are the best match for each other. Fire gives heat and passion to water, and water cools fire's temper. In the wrong amounts, one will destroy the other, but if they are well matched..."

Terran left the sentence hanging and vanished through the door. Artemis and Butler were now the only ones left in the hall. Caitir had left whilst Terran was imparting her wisdom, smiling to herself at the look on the boy's face. It was somewhere between irritation, embarrassment and delight.

Artemis recovered quickly and turned to Butler. The manservant was trying not to laugh. He stood and clapped a giant hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I think you and Holly are very well matched," he said, leaving before Artemis could form a coherent pithy comeback; his vast mental reserves didn't cover this sort of conversation. He shook his head and left. In the hall he spotted Trouble, crouching by a red door. The elf saw him looking and gestured him over.

"Don't stand there staring, you'll draw their attention," he hissed. Artemis saw that he was kneeling to peer through a tiny panel of glass. Now that he looked, he saw that there was such a window at the bottom of every door. He could see no logical reason for it to be there, but decided to inquire at a later date. He leaned forwards to glance though the glass, and saw Holly and Edan doing something that looked a lot like yoga. Holly was standing on one leg in the centre of a black marble room, facing their general direction, her arms extended for balance. Edan nodded with apparent satisfaction and touched her shoulder lightly, correcting her posture minutely. Artemis shook his head.

"This is called stalking," he said, but didn't move. Trouble sneered at his hypocrisy before turning his attention back to the two elves in the room. They couldn't hear what was being said, but both males gritted their teeth when Edan pushed at Holly's lower back with one hand (what he was hoping to achieve, neither of them knew). Holly wobbled and overbalanced. Edan tried to grab her, missed, and they ended up in a rather tangled heap on the floor.

"He wanted that to happen," Trouble growled. Artemis made no comment, but thought that Trouble was probably right. Edan pushed himself up on his arms, leaning over Holly. Rather than leaning down to kiss her, as both observers were expecting, he pushed himself onto his knees, allowing her to crawl out from beneath him. The onlookers quickly moved; Holly was facing the window at exactly the right angle to spot them. Artemis backed into something and looked up to see Caitir smirking down at them.

"It's not nice to spy," she said. Trouble groaned at being caught, and hauled himself to his feet.

"It's not what it looks like..."

"Then what is it?" she asked, pulling Artemis upright by the shoulder. Trouble mouthed at her wordlessly. He'd never been good at lying on the spot. She smiled and knocked on the scarlet door. It was yanked open by Edan, who was apparently sober once more.

"Hello?"

Caitir grinned at him.

"These two wanted to watch your training."

Edan blinked at them, then shrugged and stood aside to let them enter. Artemis and Trouble filed past him, ignoring Caitir's giggles. What else could they do? Holly narrowed her eyes when she saw who it was.

"What do you two want?"

Edan kicked the door shut and returned to her side.

"To watch, apparently. Now, let's try again. You can show off for your friends, huh?"

Holly glowered in their general direction, but allowed Edan to turn her away from them.

"Ignore them," he told her. Trouble and Artemis leaned uncertainly against the curved wall. There were no chairs in the room. They watched as Holly adopted the same position as before, arms extended and palms facing outwards. Edan stepped back and looked her up and down.

"Much better. Now, exhale and try again."

Holly closed her eyes and slowly blew out through her mouth. Her arms moved to above her head and her palms met, leaving a trail of flame behind them. Artemis gasped. Edan smiled as Holly opened her eyes and put her other foot on the ground.

"Well done. Not perfect, but better. We can leave it there for today."

Holy nodded and the fire hovering in an arc above her head vanished.

"You still haven't said why I have to do it standing on one foot."

"It's endurance. Any dummy can conjure fire when there's no pressure. Doing it whilst focussing on something else as well is harder. Also, it gives me a chance to catch you if you fall."

Holly punched him. He winced and laughed, rubbing his ribs. The four of them left and made their way back to the corridor where all the bedrooms were located. Caitir emerged from the bathroom and grinned at them.

"Have fun?"

She disappeared into her room, as did Edan. Trouble and Artemis both tried to hide their flushed faces, which actually drew more attention to them. Holly looked at them oddly.

"What's wrong with you two?"

"Nothing," they replied simultaneously. Holly looked from one to the other before coming to her own conclusion.

"If you like her, just ask her out already."

Artemis gaped, and Trouble stammered out a denial, but Holly ignored them and vanished into her room. The two males stood in silence for a couple of seconds before disappearing into their own rooms. There was nothing more to be said.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Artemis opened his door, and wasn't entirely surprised to find that his room was already occupied. He sat on the edge of the bed and waited for his guest to speak. Butler stepped from the corner of the room and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"How did it go?"

Artemis shook his head. Holly thought he liked Caitir, and was apparently not at all jealous of the fact. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Butler squeezed his shoulder lightly and opened his mouth to impart wisdom, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Artemis? Can I come in?"

The boy leapt from the bed.

"Sure, Holly, come on in."

He tried to appear aloof, as if he didn't much care either way; the effect was spoiled somewhat by the fact that he sounded like he had a sore throat. Butler grinned and left as Holly entered, muttering that it was getting late. Artemis glanced at the clock. It was nine pm. Holly also looked sceptical about the manservant's excuse, but shut the door behind him.

"Artemis, we need to talk."

Artemis wasn't sure from her tone whether he was going to enjoy this talk or not. He patted the bed next to him and she sat, looking at her feet. She was still dressed head to toe in black.

"What is it, Holly?" he asked, once it became apparent that she wasn't going to continue the conversation. She sucked in a breath and lifted her head, meeting his eyes.

"Why did you come to watch me training?"

Artemis got the impression that this wasn't what she'd actually wanted to ask, but he answered it anyway. He actually had a convincing lie for this one.

"I was curious as to how everyone else trained. Kelby's all about the arm waving and shouting."

Holly tilted her head slightly to one side, eyes flicking up and down his body.

"You don't look as bruised tonight."

"He took it a little easier on me. I think Edan talked to him."

"You're welcome," Holly said, smirking. Artemis shook his head.

"You were very good," he said, referring to the flames she'd conjured earlier. She shrugged.

"It wasn't much really. How're you getting on?"

"Alright," he said, clicking the fingers of his right hand. Water spurted from his fist and splashed Holly in the face. She froze momentarily, then shook her head, sending droplets flying. Artemis got the worst of it – water drops beading on his cheek. He laughed. He hadn't been expecting such a childish gesture from the Captain.

"Sorry," he said, "my aim's not great."

"I noticed," she said. Water was beading on her eyelashes. Artemis swallowed and looked away.

"Was that all you wanted?" he asked. Miraculously, his voice didn't sound strangled. Holly shrugged.

"We haven't really hung out since this whole affair started. What with the training and the arguments..."

She trailed off, apparently very interested in the burn mark on the ceiling. Artemis glanced at it.

"Can you do that yet?"

Holly shook her head.

"It takes all my concentration to just hold those small flames. Fireballs are a long way beyond me."

"Not for long," he said confidently. Holly tilted her head to look at him.

"What about you? Can you do anything other than splash water at me?"

"Not really. Kelby doesn't explain well."

Artemis frowned. He wasn't used to having to ask for further explanation. Earlier, Kelby had yelled 'I thought you were supposed to be a genius?' at him. Was it his fault that the elf kept speaking very rapidly in Gnommish, using words that Artemis had never heard before in his life? Genius he may be, but he wasn't a computer.

"How long do you think we're going to be stuck here?" he asked, not wanting to continue along this line of conversation.

Holly shrugged. "As long as it takes, I guess."

"Very philosophical," replied Artemis dryly. "But hardly useful. I don't want to return home having aged. That would make Father even more suspicious than he already is."

"Edan told me that we don't age here. Something to do with the whole 'different dimension' thing. That and the Guardian."

"Right."

There was a semi-awkward silence, broken by Artemis.

"At least we know who emailed us both now. The Guardian probably got our addresses from Foaly..."

Holly stood rapidly, blood draining from her face.

"Oh, gods. Foaly! He'll be going spare! We have to contact him somehow..."

* * *

Thanks for reading, please review!  
Next chapter: Embarrasing emails, and a really bad training session.

Love you all  
Liris  
xxx


	7. The Price Of Success

I own nothing except a few pots and pans that I bought recently to take to uni with me. Honestly, me cooking. If the updates stop, I've given myself food poisoning.  
The swear toad incident is referred to in the interview with Holly in the Artemis Fowl Files.  
RLD, you're amazing. Best. Beta. Ever.

* * *

Holly, Artemis, Butler, and Trouble stood in front of a large computer bank. Both elves were wondering what could possibly warrant having so many computers in one room, especially since they all appeared to be turned off. Butler didn't particularly care either way as long as the room was secure. It was pointless to guard the door in this dimension, but old habits die hard. Only Artemis appreciated the machines; he stroked the top of the nearest one gently, speaking in undertones to his companions.

"Can you believe this hardware? _I_ don't have some of this."

He sounded impressed by that. Holly rolled her eyes.

"So it's from Earth, then?" she asked, pretending that she cared. Artemis nodded.

"All except for that one. I've never seen anything like that before."

He pointed at a tiny silver device that resembled a porcupine. The spines could be removed, and there were spaces where some of them were missing. Holly spared it a glance before turning back to the equipment she did know.

"Fascinating. Now, genius, can you figure out how to turn these things on? The Guardian gave us a limited time on these machines, and you've spent half of it gazing in admiration."

Artemis shot a glare at her, which she returned with interest. Trouble sighed and shoved Artemis's shoulder, spinning the boy to face the computers. He muttered under his breath, and Artemis thought he heard the word 'toddlers'. He decided not to waste more time responding, and set about turning the nearest computer on. Behind him, he could hear Trouble and Holly debating.

"It's too long to say every time. It needs to be shorter."

"How do you shorten 'Guardian'? Guard? G?"

"G," Trouble mused, seriously pondering it. "I suppose that would work."

Holly rolled her eyes. Artemis stood back as the largest monitor whirred to life, breaking up the discussion. The elves moved to either side of him, peering at the screen; he sighed and elbowed them away so that he could reach the keyboard. Holly narrowed her eyes at him but didn't say anything, not wanting another fight just after they'd made up.

Artemis opened the email programme, bringing up a long list of addressees. Among the names, he spotted his own and Holly's. Foaly's was also there, so he clicked on it. A text box opened, and he began to type. Trouble and Holly watched as he wrote.

Holly snorted. "That's not going to convince him of who we are. Besides, it sounds completely moronic. Give it here."

She elbowed him aside and deleted the description of what had happened to them. Trouble shrugged at the look Artemis shot him.

"It does sound implausible. As far as Foaly's concerned, we're dead. We have to give him room to adjust before we hit him with the alternate-dimension stuff."

He turned and read what Holly was writing over her shoulder. His lips twitched into a smile.

"Yep, that'll get his attention."

Holly laughed and clicked send.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

**One hour after Retrieval returned to Haven**

Foaly was supposed to be at home with Caballine, curled up in bed. Instead, he'd pulled a double shift and was reviewing the feed from Holly and Trouble's helmets for the fifth time. Everything was going fine until Fowl showed up. The sound had been disrupted somehow, but he had visuals. Holly greeted Artemis, then suddenly Trouble had his gun out, Holly was in the air, and Butler was shielding Artemis from view. Holly did a few scans, which showed nothing, and returned to the ground. Then everything went dark and their vital signs flat-lined. There was no reason behind it. If it was just the visuals, he would have thought the helmet's signal had been interrupted, but the suits were on a revolving channel, which made it impossible to block their signals. Expensive, yes, but it avoided another Zito-probe fiasco. If the suit went offline, then the officer was dead. No two ways about it.

Foaly rewound the tape again, looking for anything that could account for the blackout. The missing sound was remarkably similar to the circumstances leading up to the Zito incident, but Opal was still locked up in Atlantis – well, their Opal was. The Opal who'd accompanied Holly and Artemis back from the past was still loose somewhere. It was possible that the disappearance of two LEP officers was due to her, but with no traces of anything at the site it was impossible to prove anything either way.

Foaly stood and kicked his chair. It spun in a slow circle, coming to rest against the one counter without hardware scattered over its surface. He trotted over to it and pushed it back into its proper place. Abusing his own furniture was not going to help matters. He turned back to the computer, determined to find something. As he looked, the surveillance footage disappeared and was replaced by the email programme. There was one new message, sender unknown. He ignored it and closed the programme, only to have it pop back up. He tried again, and got the same result. He sighed and opened the email. What he read made his jaw drop.

'_Hey Foaly. Holly here. Don't bother putting the tinfoil hat on, if you can find where Caballine hid it, it really is me. I'm fine; Trouble too, so you can call off whatever Defcon you've gone to in our absence. We've been...borrowed. That sounds weird, but there's not a better way to describe it. I have no idea how long we'll be gone, but we will be back! And sorry, no carrots or beetle juice. I'm not even sure they exist where we are. Well, carrots maybe. Oh, and have some new uniforms and guns ready for us. H._'

Foaly pushed away from the computer, taking several deep breaths. Could it be? It certainly sounded like Holly, but that wasn't proof that it actually was. Maybe there was a way to be sure. He clicked 'reply'.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

They didn't have long to wait before the computer hummed, and a small 'you have mail' box popped up. Artemis opened the message, and frowned.

'_If you are Holly, then what caused the scar on your left leg?_'

"Is that it?" the boy asked, turning to look at the elf in question. Holly read the email and flushed a deep red, drawing suspicious looks from all three males. Trouble had to ask.

"I didn't know you had a scar on your leg."

Artemis nodded. "I didn't see one earlier."

She coughed and stared at the computer so that she wouldn't have to make eye contact.

"I don't, not exactly."

"Then what's Foaly talking about?"

Holly huffed and shoved Artemis out of the way. She typed two words into the reply box, hitting the keys rather harder than was necessary. Trouble managed to read it before she clicked send.

"A swear toad? Ok, now I have to know. What happened?"

Holly's blush intensified. Artemis was staring at her as if she'd grown another head. He'd never seen her so uncomfortable. She mumbled a reply that he didn't quite catch. Trouble did, however, and doubled over laughing.

"What were you doing to get bitten there?"

Holly snapped at him to shut up and turned her glare back to the computer screen. Foaly's reply popped up on screen. She opened it, using a bit more force than needed, and scanned it while doing her best to pretend she couldn't hear Trouble sniggering behind her. When she was done she waved Artemis forward, still not making eye contact.

"All yours, Fowl. And make sure to tell the pony that I'm going to hurt him when I see him."

She left the room, punching Trouble in the shoulder on her way out. He winced, and brought his giggles under control. The two humans transferred their bemused gazes to him.

"Well?"

Trouble snorted and ignored the question. He strolled over to the computer, reading Foaly's reply. It was mostly a combination of gushing 'why-the-hell-did-you-let-me-think-you-were-dead' sentences and threats of severe harm if they didn't tell him what was going on _right now_. There was also, right at the end, a postscript. '_No beetle juice? What hell are you in?_' Trouble would have found this amusing if not for the company he was forced to keep. Well, alright, being stranded in the middle of nowhere with Holly wasn't too bad, or with Caitir for that matter. That was one lithe sprite. However, being forced to spend time with Fowl...

It wasn't that he had anything against the human particularly. If Holly could forgive him for the kidnapping and several near-death experiences, then he guessed he could too. It was more the notion that he had to spend time with the human whether he wanted to or not that was irritating him. That and the looks he and Holly kept sharing. The two were closer than he'd thought.

Artemis gave up on ever getting a reply from the Commander, and turned instead to Foaly's email. He retyped, word for word, the detailed explanation of what had happened to them and sent it. Trouble hovered behind the human for a few seconds; trapped in another dimension or not, he was still the Commander and as such should be responsible for overseeing the communications. When he saw all the techno-babble in Foaly's reply, however, he decided that his time would be better spent elsewhere, where he actually understood more than twenty percent of the conversation, and followed Holly out of the room. Butler raised an eyebrow at Artemis.

"What was all that about?"

Artemis shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Holly was the first one in the dining room the next morning. She was soon joined by Trouble, who giggled when he made eye contact. She turned her eyes back to her food, and didn't look up until she heard Artemis and Butler sit down. Artemis was grinning at her. She glared at him.

"What?"

Butler coughed into his hand. Artemis turned to his food and shrugged.

"Nothing. Foaly told me about the scar."

Holly stabbed her food a little harder than absolutely necessary and mumbled a death threat in Gnommish. Trouble snorted. The table was silent for a few seconds, then Artemis spoke without looking up from his bacon.

"So what _were_ you doing to get bitten there?"

Holly stood and left the hall, cursing under her breath. Trouble watched her go, amusement evident on his face. He caught Artemis's worried look and rolled his eyes.

"Relax, Fowl. She'll still talk to you. She's just embarrassed."

Butler nodded.

"She got over it when you saw her in her underwear."

Trouble choked on his food. "You saw her in _what_?"

Artemis spared Butler a withering glance. Evidently, no one had told the Commander the full details of his and Holly's trip to the past. He saw the elf's face taking on a purple hue, and decided he should make himself scarce. He followed Holly's example and left the room, abandoning his breakfast.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Artemis got to the training lake before Kelby, so he decided to practice. He found that, free of the elf's anger, he actually quite enjoyed manipulating the water. It was soothing, and he could actually lift some of the water up and hold it in the air. Admittedly, it was in a blob rather than the elegant shapes Kelby had demonstrated, but it was still impressive.

Kelby entered, slamming the door behind him. The noise startled Artemis, and the water dropped back into the lake, splashing both elementals. Kelby glared daggers at him.

"And here I was hoping to stay dry today," the elf said, striding past Artemis to stand facing him on the opposite bank.

"Let's try blocking again, shall we?"

Artemis sighed. He could make the water move where he wanted it to, but when Kelby formed waves to rush at him, he could no more stop them than conjure fire. It was the elf's way of releasing his anger. It was effective too; Kelby always seemed happier after he'd humiliated Artemis. Or it could have been the sight of the dripping wet human that cheered him up.

Kirby lifted one arm, and a huge wall of water rose from the lake, moving toward Artemis. He focussed his attention on the centre point of the wave – if he could break that, the water would split in two and miss him. Nothing happened. Just as Artemis was resigning himself to another soaking, the wave split in the middle. The ground on either side of the boy was drenched, but Artemis himself remained dry. He smiled; he'd finally done it.

Kelby, instead of looking happy or proud of his student, looked livid. He sneered at the boy.

"Well done, human. Shall we see if you can do it again?"

He didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he conjured a wave larger than Artemis would have thought possible. How much water was in this lake? Surely not enough to facilitate such a monstrosity. If that hit him, it would break every bone in his body. He tried to replicate the blocking action, but nothing happened. He changed tack. Maybe, instead of splitting the wave, he could redirect it. Shift some of the water back into the lake. At least that way when it hit him he wouldn't be killed. If he survived this, he was never going to refuse Holly's help again.

The water was getting very close now. He flung an arm out. Most of the water obeyed him and sloughed off the top of the wave, back into the lakebed. The rest fell upon the boy, dragging him into the lake with it.

Artemis thrashed, half-stunned, searching for the surface. Air, he needed air. He pulled desperately towards what he thought was the surface, but he'd never been the strongest swimmer in proper gear, never mind in clothing. His breath left him in a string of bubbles. His limbs ignored the frantic signals from his brain, and slowed. He sank a few feet, then his vision went black.

* * *

Please don't kill me for the cliffie! Review, and the next chapter wil be up sooner. No really, I haven't finished writing it yet, and reviews inspire me.  
Next chapter: wait and see *evil grin*

Love Liris  
xxx


	8. Drowning Lessons

Sorry I've been awol for so long, I've been on holiday, and then I got my exam results. I got into Uni, so updates are going to be even more sporadic, apologies. But there will be updates, I love doing thhis too much to leave you people hanging. Like I have the last, what, three weeks? So, update.  
Thanks to RLD, who is the most incredible beta ever. Chapter dedicated to Ru55el, for talking to a lonely English authoress about all sorts of rubbish, and giving me the inspiration to write more. Thank you.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing apart from the things that I do.

* * *

Holly arrived at her practice room to find it empty. Edan was late. She shrugged and had a look around, studying the piles of debris flung against the sides of the room. There were mannequins stacked against the wall, all with burns on them - target practice. Holly grinned.

Edan strode in and clapped his hands for her attention.

"We're not in here today. I thought you might like to take a turn observing, so we're going to train with some of the others."

Holly walked over to him.

"Who?"

He shrugged.

"Depends on who's least bothered by it. I know Caitir has plans for whirlwinds, which will _not_ help us, so we'll give her a miss."

He held the door open for her, and she ducked under his arm to pass. They strolled down the corridor, searching for Terran and Butler. The dwarf insisted on changing rooms each day, as she thought the challenge of unfamiliar territory would help when Butler was back at home.

Edan's method of searching was somewhat unorthodox. He wasn't opening the doors to see if the rooms were occupied or not; instead, he seemed to be peering at the tiny panes of glass in the bottom of each door. From the centre of the corridor, all you could see was a patch of grass. Holly frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"The frame changes colour if the room is occupied." He paused outside the turquoise door.

"See? The wood around the glass of that one is the same colour as the door. When the room is occupied, the frame turns black."

He pointed to illustrate. Holly nodded.

"Clever."

Edan opened his mouth to reply, but never actually managed to form words. The glass in the bottom of the turquoise door flashed rapidly, changing from green, to blue, to red. Edan ran for the door, shoving it open. Bemused, Holly followed him into a room dominated by a lake, which currently was rolling with huge waves. She could see Kelby on the opposite bank, but Artemis was nowhere in sight. It wasn't until she saw Edan diving into the water that she realised why. Her heart climbed into her mouth, and she ran towards the water's edge, yelling at Kelby to help. He was a water elemental, right? Surely he could do something?

Kelby glanced at her, looking somewhat shell-shocked, and the surface of the lake grew calm. Holly was not a strong swimmer; swimming had never been necessary underground. She was not stupid enough to dive in after Edan so instead she paced the shoreline, watching the water anxiously. After several seconds, the elf broke the surface, carrying a very limp Artemis. Holly drew in several ragged breaths, but waited until they were close to the bank before wading into the waist-deep water and taking Artemis from Edan. She laid the unconscious boy on dry earth and put a hand on his chest. He wasn't breathing. Shaking, she spread her fingers.

"Heal!"

A few superficial wounds on Artemis's face vanished, but he didn't start breathing. Edan knelt next to her, pushing wet hair out of his eyes.

"You need to get the water out of his lungs first."

She nodded and knelt over the boy, attempting CPR. For a few agonising seconds, nothing happened; then Artemis coughed and water spewed from his mouth and nose. Edan rolled him onto his side, massaging his back. Once the spluttering stopped, the elf released a few tendrils of magic. Artemis's breathing eased. Edan released the boy and turned to Kelby, beginning to shout. Holly didn't pay much attention to what was being said; she could always vent her anger later. For now, Artemis was her top priority.

The boy lay on his back, breathing alright but still unconscious. He was also soaked through and shivering; that couldn't be helping anything. Holly stroked her hand down his arm, concentrating. His clothes dried rapidly, releasing only a tiny amount of steam. Edan would have been proud if he hadn't been too busy shouting to notice.

Holly lifted Artemis and stood. He was taller than her, and heavier, but she managed to carry him halfway to the door before Edan caught up with her. He took the boy's feet, and together they carried him to his room. Edan left, saying that he had to contact the Guardian. Holly barely registered his departure. She pulled the blankets over Artemis and sat beside him, stroking his arm. When she reached his hand she interlocked her fingers with his and sent magic into his body. He groaned and opened his eyes, blinking groggily at the ceiling. She let out a relieved sigh.

"Holly?" he asked, turning his head to look at her. What was she doing here? And where was he? Last he recalled he was at the lake...

Holly nodded and squeezed his hand. All coherent though was driven from the boy's head. She was holding his hand?

"Are you alright?" she asked, voice too high pitched. Artemis nodded, but the action made him cough. His throat felt raw, despite the magic Holly had released into his system. He remembered the wave, being dragged underwater. Ah. That was why Holly was worried.

"I'm fine," he said. His voice shook, but Holly took him at his word. She released his hand and punched him very lightly on the shoulder.

"Don't do that to me, Arty."

He made a fist, trying to retain the feel of her fingers intertwined with his. _Arty_.

"I'll try not to."

He smiled and struggled to his elbows. Holly shook her head, but before she could respond the door burst open. Butler entered and made straight for the boy's bedside. Holly stood and moved out of the way. The manservant barely registered her presence.

"Artemis! Are you alright? Edan came and told us what had happened."

Butler was followed into the room by Terran and Kelby. The dwarf nodded courteously, but Holly barely noticed. She strode up to Kelby and stopped millimetres from a collision.

"What happened?" she demanded. Her tone could have cut glass; Kelby took an unconscious step backwards.

"He..."

"I fell in," Artemis supplied. Holly ignored him.

"Why didn't you do something?" she yelled. Kelby floundered for a few seconds, confirming Holly's suspicions. Butler turned just in time to see her punch the other elf squarely on the nose. Terran sidestepped out of the way, allowing Kelby to land in a moaning heap on the floor. Artemis hid his grin as Edan appeared in the doorway, followed by the Guardian. Edan looked from the groaning elf on the floor to Holly, who was still clenching her fists, and whistled.

"Nice shot."

The Guardian didn't acknowledge either elf. Instead, it stepped over and around the group in the doorway and walked to Artemis's side.

"Are you alright?"

Artemis nodded. The Guardian frowned, but didn't comment otherwise. It turned to the huddle of fairies in the doorway. Kelby was still on the floor. Edan had his arms around Holly, though whether to provide comfort or to stop her attacking Kelby again, Artemis wasn't sure. Terran was standing to the side, smiling gently to herself.

"I need to speak with Kelby. The rest of you should continue your training. Edan, I believe you were going to pair up with Terran today?"

Both trainers nodded. Edan tugged Holly out of the room, and Terran followed. The Guardian turned back to Butler.

"Go with them. Artemis will be perfectly safe here."

Butler eyed Kelby coldly, but left. The elf shivered. He was steering well clear of the human from now on. The Guardian nodded to Artemis.

"If you are capable of staying here alone, we will leave you to recover. Come, Kelby."

Its tone went arctic on the last two words. Holly could do that too, which made Artemis think that maybe the Guardian was female. Either that or all fairies had that particular gift. Kelby shut the door with a snap, leaving Artemis alone.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Terran and Edan led their pupils to a nearby empty room, and split them into pairs. The general idea, the tutors tried to explain, was to do a little individual training first and then work together, the way they would back on Earth. They didn't get too far, because neither student paid much attention. Butler was still furious at Artemis's latest near-death experience, and kept glancing at the door or his watch. Holly was both fuming and relieved, which was an exhausting pair of emotions to keep up for any length of time. After two failed attempts to catch their interest, Terran tried the more direct approach. The ground under the pair's feet began to move, shaking them out of their trances and forcing them to focus on not falling flat on their faces. Gradually, the tremors ceased, and the dwarf nodded.

"That's better. Domovoi, if you actually paid attention, you would be able to do that as well. Holly, I know you're worried about your friend, but please try to listen?"

The two nodded, and the tutors managed to get through the whole explanation without being interrupted by loss of interest. Butler and Terran moved to one side of the room to attempt earthquakes, though on a much smaller scale than the one Terran had just demonstrated, and the fire elementals went in the opposite direction, mostly to be out of ground-shaking range. Edan quickly gave up on Holly managing to conjure anything more than tiny flames, and sat her down.

"What's wrong? Artemis will be fine. The Guardian will ensure that the same thing doesn't happen again. Stop worrying."

"I'm not worried," she said, watching from the corner of her eye as Butler made the grass wobble. Terran shook her head and corrected his hand movements. Holly sighed, returning her attention to her own tutor. "I'm angry. I thought this place was supposed to be safe!"

It wasn't until Butler looked at her that she realised she had shouted. She took a deep breath and apologised.

"It's not your fault. You saved him, so I guess I should be thanking you."

Edan waved her explanation away.

"You would have done the same thing if you'd gotten there first."

"She has on many occasions," Butler supplied. He and Terran had joined the pair, and settled on the grass beside them. The dwarf shot Edan a meaningful look.

"I think we should tell them. So they don't come away with the wrong idea."

Edan sighed.

"Fine. But you tell them, he made me promise not to say anything."

Butler shot Holly a look that said _what are they talking about?_ Holly shrugged.

"Kelby has a phobia of humans," Terran said, making Butler and Holly's gazes jolt to her. "When he was young, his father was killed by human hunters."

Butler frowned.

"Humans were hunting fairies?"

"It used to happen before we moved underground for good," Holly supplied, only now realising what the 'no-aging' thing in this dimension could mean. You could feasibly live forever. If you didn't mind the isolation, that is. She coughed and brought her attention back to the matter at hand.

"That's still not an excuse. My mother was killed by humans, but you don't see me running around trying to kill them."

She saw Edan's eyes widen, and realised that he hadn't known Coral was dead. Ouch. Not a good way to find out.

If Terran noticed her fellow tutor's reaction to Holly's bombshell, she ignored it.

"You have regular exposure to humankind. You work with these humans on a regular basis. Kelby has had no such contact with their kind for several millennia. If your only knowledge of the human world was that they had killed your family, what would you be like?"

Holly fell silent, remembering her final words to her mother: 'I'll hunt them down'. Was she really so different from Kelby? She shook her head; of course she was. She'd never tried to kill Artemis for one thing, though she'd been tempted more than once.

Edan saw her expression and muttered something to Terran, who nodded. He stood and pulled Holly to her feet.

"Come on. We'll go back to our room, pick this up tomorrow."

He tugged her back to their training room, but rather than try to teach her anything he leaned against the wall and eyed her sadly.

"What happened to Coral?"

Holly sighed and sat down, telling the story in a small voice. When she was done, Edan came and sat beside her. There were tear tracks on his cheeks.

"I'm sorry," he said, putting an arm across her shoulders. She leant against him. "Coral was a very special person. She was beautiful, and talented, and the most caring elf I've ever met. She didn't deserve that."

Holly sniffed. Edan squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. She turned her head to look at him.

"Thank you."

"What for?"

She shrugged.

"Everything. Understanding. Saving Artemis."

"We've been over this. You would have done it if you'd gotten there first."

"I'd have tried."

Edan caught her tone and met her gaze.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm not the best swimmer. I mean, I can tread water, but I couldn't have dived in like you did."

He smiled at her.

"I'll teach you."

Her lips twitched upwards at the corners.

"Really?"

Edan's smile widened.

"Sure. I bet you look good in a swimsuit."

Holly laughed and swiped at him. He caught her hand and kissed it.

"I'm being serious."

His eyes bored into hers from inches away. She swallowed.

"Edan..."

He didn't let her finish. His lips pressed gently to hers.

* * *

Do the A/H shippers all hate me now? Please don't, I couldn't give them a smooth ride, could I? Let's face it, Arty has way too much bad Karma. What will Holly do? Wait and see!

Next chapter: Swimming lessons and combined training sessions.

Thanks for reading, the next update will be quicker, I promise.  
Love Liris  
xxx


	9. Birdsong

Oh my... has it really been that long? I'm so sorry! Anyone who wants to know the long list of excuses, they're at the bottom. For now, here's the next, long-delayed chapter

* * *

Artemis felt recovered enough to go to dinner at 8 o'clock. Butler was already in the room, but not eating. As soon as the boy entered he hurried over, checking him for injuries and asking complicated questions. Artemis sighed and pulled away.

"I am fine, Butler. Thanks to Holly."

"Actually, it was Edan who jumped in after you," Trouble interrupted from his place at the table. Artemis sat down next to the elf, wearing a strange expression. He didn't much want to like Edan, but it was getting harder not to. He shook himself and looked around the hall. Terran and Caitir were seated at the other table, deep in conversation. There was no sign of Holly, Edan, or Kelby.

"Where are the others?" he asked, picking at the stew Butler placed in front of him.

Trouble shrugged. "They'll be here in a few minutes I suppose," he said unhelpfully. His words were proved partly true when, five minutes later, Edan walked through the black door. Instead of getting food, the elf made his way over to Artemis.

"Are you alright?"

Artemis nodded and thanked him. He shrugged.

"It's no big deal. I spoke to the Guardian; Kelby will still tutor you, but there will always be somebody else in there with you. Most likely myself and Holly, but the others will also take turns."

Artemis nodded. He was being babysat, but if it stopped him getting killed then his ego wouldn't suffer too much. Besides, Holly training with him couldn't be a bad thing.

"Where is Holly?" he asked, only now noticing that she hadn't come in with Edan. The elf shrugged.

"We stopped practice early; I haven't seen her since."

Artemis got the distinct feeling Edan wasn't quite being truthful, but didn't pursue it as the elf walked away. Trouble frowned at him.

"Where's she got to?"

Another ten minutes passed, and Holly still didn't put in an appearance. All three men got more and more worried, until Trouble finally pushed his plate away and stood.

"I'm going to find her," he declared, prompting the other two to stand also. They left the room together, going first to her room. Trouble knocked several times, but got no answer. He opened the door and peered around inside, just to double-check, but the room was empty. He shrugged. "Somewhere else then."

They emerged back onto the main corridor, Trouble employing the same searching technique as Edan had earlier. He shrugged at the raised eyebrows Butler was shooting him.

"Caitir told me about it," he mumbled, returning to his search. Finally he found a door with a black rim around the glass and stepped closer, pushing it open a little. The Guardian's voice floated into the corridor, punctuated occasionally by Kelby's sullen tones. Artemis leaned forward and tugged the door shut.

"I doubt she's in there."

They continued up the corridor, finding the last door on the left to be the only other room occupied. None of them had yet been in this room, so they had no idea what to expect when they pushed the door open. As one, all three men let out a soft 'wow'.

The 'room' was the biggest one in the place, with snow-capped mountains visible in the distance and, closer, a small copse of trees to their right as well as a field with a small tributary running through it on the left. There was no sign of Holly, but with the expanse of the room that was hardly surprising.

Trouble cupped his hands around his mouth and hollered her name as loud as he could. There was a muted reply from the copse, but it could as easily have been a bird as an elf. There was no distinction to the sound. Still, it was something. The three headed towards it, realising as they approached that it was quite a bit larger than they had anticipated. Still, this room was obviously used a fair amount, because there were four paths weaving through the trees, though one looked too small to be a fairy-made trail. Probably that of a small animal – were there animals in this room? Artemis vowed to check with somebody later. He coughed to draw the attention of the others.

"We should take one path each. We have a better chance of finding her that way."

Trouble rolled his eyes. "Or we could call again." He did so but got no reply, then swore softly and sighed. "Alright, Fowl. We meet back here in ten minutes."

He took the path nearest him, leaving Butler staring at Artemis. The boy sighed.

"I will be fine alone, Butler. So long as I stick to the path, I cannot get lost."

The manservant reluctantly agreed, taking the middle path. Artemis watched until his companions were out of sight before proceeding down the remaining viable path. He walked for about three minutes, getting deeper into the tree cover before he heard something that made him falter. Twittering, like a bird singing, accompanied by a more human voice – Holly, talking to the animals. He took another few steps forward and emerged into a small clearing, really just a widening of the path he was on. He stopped dead. Holly was seated on a fallen tree, surrounded by an assortment of brightly coloured birds, all of whom were twittering at her. She was smiling, and listening to the cacophony as though it made sense. Artemis cleared his throat.

She looked up and smiled softly at him, beckoning for him to come closer. He did so, picking his way carefully among the birds until he was at her side. He would have sat down, but small feathery creatures covered the log. Holly chirruped at them, and they turned to stare at him. It was rather unnerving to be glared at by maybe twenty small birds, but their attention didn't last long. Holly made another noise, and they shifted to leave a space alongside her on the tree, just big enough for him to sit down. He did so, and a tiny purple-feathered bird immediately landed on his head, singing at the top of its voice. Holly laughed. Artemis froze, not daring to move in case it upset the bird. He didn't want to be pecked. Holly lifted her arm, and the miniscule creature transferred to her hand, preening its feathers and looking, Artemis thought, rather smug. It was the only bird actually touching Holly, maybe that's what it was.

Holly listened intently to its song, as did many of the other birds. When it was done, she smiled at it and kissed its head gently. It chirruped again and hopped from her finger to her shoulder, settling and looking quite comfortable. Artemis shook his head incredulously.

"How do you do that?"

Holly looked at him. "Do what?"

"Charm the birds out of the trees."

She shrugged, causing the purple bird to chirp in alarm. She trilled an apology, and it curled itself back up by her neck. Some of the other birds gathered around returned to the trees while the others moved closer; Artemis had never seen birds act like this before, and wasn't entirely comfortable with it. It was creepy, but Holly seemed perfectly at ease. She held the arm that didn't have a bird at the shoulder out, and another small creature flapped onto her hand, this one yellow. She held it out towards Artemis.

"Go on. They won't hurt you."

The bird glared at him. Artemis swallowed.

"I'm alright, thanks."

Holly shrugged again and, ignoring the purple bird's protests, removed both creatures from her person. They flew away dejectedly, followed by the crowd gathered at her feet. Within seconds, there was no sign that there were any animals living here at all; for all their bright colours, they were very good at vanishing. Unnerved, the boy turned back to face Holly.

"What was all that about?"

Holly shrugged. "They just sort of gathered when I sat down. Animals are good at sensing when people don't feel right, and they like elves."

"What's wrong?"

She exhaled sharply and closed her eyes, leaning back against the tree behind her. Artemis would have imitated her posture, but there was nothing behind him – falling on his backside would be undignified. Instead he leaned forwards, closer to her than he had been in a while.

"Tell me. Maybe I can help."

She cracked open one eyelid incredulously.

"Artemis Fowl wants to know about my problems? Is this some attempt to psychoanalyse me?"

He shook his head, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

"You missed dinner, and you are sitting alone in the middle of a forest, surrounded by rather strange birds. It doesn't take a genius to know that something is wrong, Holly. I could work out from other sources what it is, but it will be much quicker and easier for you to just tell me yourself. The end result is the same, after all."

She opened both eyes now and looked him in the eye, debating what to tell him. Eventually she spoke, her tone making it clear that she was uncertain this was the right thing to be doing.

"It's...complicated. You probably don't want to hear it."

Artemis raised one eyebrow at her. She huffed and turned her head away from him, looking at the lowest branch of a nearby tree. The tiny purple bird that had made itself at home on her neck was sitting there, watching the pair intently. She spoke to the bird rather than to the human; it felt less like a confession.

"Edan kissed me."

Artemis felt his heart skip a beat. She was right; he was the last person she should be telling this to. He opened his mouth to tell her so, but no sound came out. She didn't see his reaction, and continued in the same half-embarrassed tone.

"I was telling him about Coral, and he..."

She stopped, self-conscious, and turned back to face him. The look on his face made her own embarrassment almost worth it. A smile twitched at the edges of her lips.

"I told you, you didn't want to know."

Artemis nodded.

"Next time I'll believe you," he deadpanned. He shook the images from his head, scolding himself for allowing them to form, and stood, brushing leaves and feathers from his hair and clothes.

"Now that we can move without danger of squashing several small birds, I suggest we find the others. This way."

She stood also and followed him down the path in silence. Artemis stood it for about a minute, then he cracked.

"What did you do?" he demanded, hoping that her answer involved violence and then wondering why he hoped that. His disturbing thoughts were interrupted by her answer.

"I left and came here. I've been here for a while, talking to the birds."

He turned to look at her, his eyes narrowed.

"Really, must you gather followers?" he asked, pointing behind her. She frowned and turned; the little purple bird had followed them down the path and sat on a low branch some five feet away. It saw her look at it, and chirped happily. She shook her head and replied; the bird's wings drooped. Artemis watched the exchange with something bordering on fascination.

"What are you saying?"

"He wants to come with me."

Artemis rolled his eyes.

"I hope you told it no?"

Not bothering to reply, she overtook him and was at the place where the paths coalesced long before him, explaining where she had been to Trouble and Butler, who were already there. Artemis arrived in time to hear most of the conversation, and noticed that she avoided mentioning Edan altogether. He leaned against a tree while the three talked, Trouble scolding her for wandering off. Holly crossed her arms.

"I'm in no danger here, Trubs. It's not like I'm going to disappear; don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

At which point she was dive-bombed by a small, feathery something. She pulled the bird out of her top and sat it in her hand, where it chirruped somewhat dazedly at her. She sighed and put it down on a rock, twittering something which Artemis assumed meant 'stay there'. Trouble's eyes widened. Butler looked from Holly to the little purple fluff ball, bemused.

"Did that bird just attack you?"

Trouble answered, unsure whether to laugh or not.

"Not exactly – it was trying to follow her. You've made a new friend, Holly!"

"Shut up," she snapped, turning on her heel and leaving the copse. She was at the door by the time the other three caught up to her. Mercifully, the bird didn't emerge from the trees. Trouble had by now decided that the whole thing was rather funny, and twittered at her in birdsong. She answered him in Gnommish, expanding Artemis's vocabulary with quite a few choice words. Trouble laughed.

"Is that any way to talk to your Commander?"

She smiled at him sweetly. Artemis felt the sudden impulse to run for cover.

"You're not Commander here, Trubs."

She opened the door and left. Artemis was wary of following; he had expected far worse than that. Trouble seemed to be thinking in the same vein. In the end it was Butler who followed her into the corridor first, muttering about overreactions. Trouble was the last one to leave, cursing the fact that his room didn't have a lock. Artemis watched as the Commander disappeared into his room, and smirked. For once, it wasn't him that Holly was mad at.

* * *

Ok. So, I'll do everything else down here. Firstly, disclaimer; I own nothing. Never have, never will. Second, it's thanks to three people that this chapter is out as soon as it is, and none of them are me. Firstly, Tammerly, who bugged me until I updated. Seriously, do it guys, throw PMs at me. It works, I update faster. Also, RLD, who is the best and most patient beta in the history of fanfics. Finally, Ru55el. You know what you did, and I can't thank you enough. Chapter dedicated to all three of you.  
Now, the 'what-the-hell-was-that-about?' bit. Yeah, this is kind of filler, but it will be important later, I promise. I'm also aware that I promised swimming lessons and paired trianing sessions. Change of plans; that'll next chapter. Along with more of the A/H/E triangle.  
Warning readers: here be the lame excuses for my lack of updates.  
1) My muse flew away to someplace hot about five weeks ago, and only saw fit to return recently.  
2) I moved to Uni two weeks ago, and I'm still settling in. Lectures are killing me, as is freshers flu and a bout of homesickness.  
3) I had no internet access for about three days, and in that time I managed to lose the only copy of the half-finished original version of this chapter. Sorry.  
4) I totally forgot. And now I'm out of excuses.  
Like I said, feel free to pester me for updates, and also please review. I know I don't deserve it, but pretty please? *puppy-dog eyes*  
Thanks so much for reading the chapter and suffering through this (very long-winded) author note.  
Liris  
xxx


	10. Water and Fire

Faster update, whoop! As ever, I own precisely nothing; RLD is the most amazing beta in the world, and please review! In the interest of a fast update and a reasonable chapter length, there is no swimming this chapter. I keep putting it off, sorry about that. It's on it's way, I promise.

* * *

Trouble stuck his head around his bedroom door and looked right and left. The coast was clear. He grabbed a towel and raced to the bathroom, locking himself into a shower cubicle with a sigh of relief. He'd half expected Holly to ambush him in the middle of the night, but nothing had happened. Still, he wasn't going to relax his guard. He even kept an ear out for footsteps whilst he had the water running, in case she tried to make off with his clothes. If he brought them into the cubicle with him they'd get soaked, so there was a little cubby-hole in the wall. Whilst it could be accessed from the shower, it could also be gotten at from the other side. However, he heard nothing, so he was feeling pretty happy when he pulled back the shower curtain and reached for his towel. All his fingers encountered was air; the compartment was empty. Panicking, he felt around the edges – there had to be _something_ left, nobody was that cruel – and found a face towel, barely larger than his palm. Glowering, he ensured that he was as fully covered as possible before stepping out of the cubicle into the empty room. He stormed across to the entrance, and bumped into Holly at the divide between bathrooms. Her eyes widened as she gave him the once-over.

"Forget something, Trouble? Or did your towel shrink in the wash?"

He pointed at her threateningly, ensuring with the other hand that the flannel stayed firmly in place.

"Very funny, Holly. Now, where are my clothes?"

Holly frowned at him in (he thought) mock confusion.

"I have no idea. I've been in the shower myself."

Now that he took the time to look, Holly's hair was wet and she had a damp towel thrown over her shoulder. Trouble eyed it, and she sighed and handed it to him. He hesitated for a second, debating the best way to switch materials. Holly shook her head and walked out of the bathroom, her feet making distinct sounds on the tiled floor. Trouble tied the towel around his waist and shook his head, thinking hard. If not Holly, then who could have set him up, and why?

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Artemis was trying to meditate. He was in the lotus position, sitting on the floor at the end of his bed, attempting to make sure that he was calm before he had to face Kelby again. It wasn't working too well, mostly because of the noises he could hear coming from the adjacent room. He couldn't hear words, but the walls were thin enough for him to make out what appeared to be prolonged laughter. He sighed and opened his eyes. What was Holly finding so amusing?

He knocked on her door and she opened it a crack, peering out at him and trying to look sombre. She stopped when she saw who it was, and allowed a hint of a grin to creep onto her face.

"What do you want, Arty?"

_Arty_. He swallowed and changed his question.

"What's so funny?"

Holly glanced down the corridor to where Trouble was emerging from the bathroom, looking half contemplative, half murderous. She opened the door wider and beckoned Artemis inside. Interested in spite of himself, he obliged, and she snapped the door shut before Trouble noticed her. Caitir sat on the end of Holly's bed, holding what looked like a tiny torch in her left hand. Holly held up one hand and listened with her ear to the door until she heard Trouble enter his room. Then she nodded.

"Alright, play it. But turn the volume down."

Artemis opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but Caitir flicked a button on the machine in her hands, and it became very obvious what. He quickly closed his mouth and feigned indifference.

The torch was actually a miniscule projector, and what it was displaying onto Holly's wall was footage of Trouble (from the chest up) standing in the middle of the bathroom with a decidedly panicked look on his face. Holly and Caitir both stifled giggles. Artemis was just debating the wisdom of asking why the pair were watching this when there was another knock at the door. Immediately, Caitir turned the projector off and grabbed Artemis, tugging him out of sight of the doorway. Holly checked that they were hidden before opening the door and feigning surprise to see Trouble outside. His face was red, though whether from anger or embarrassment Holly wasn't sure. He was now fully dressed in tight white trousers and a top. It didn't pay to wear billowy material when you were working with air.

"When I got back in my room, my clothes were folded on the end of my bed."

His voice was calm and even, which told Holly he was on the verge of yelling. She decided to play dumb, and shrugged.

"So?"

He eyed her for a few seconds, his gaze narrowed. It was the look he used on Grub when he wanted information that his brother was unwilling to give, and it set the younger Kelp squirming in less than ten seconds. However, Holly was made of stronger stuff; she just glared back until Trouble gave up and handed the towel back to her with a sigh.

"Here."

She nodded and closed the door. A few seconds later, there was a muffled thud as Trouble slammed his behind him. Holly sighed and threw the wet towel in the general direction of the wardrobe in the corner of the room; then she sat down on the bed and grinned.

"That was fun."

Caitir nodded, her smile competing with the elf's, but Artemis shook his head as one would at a small and foolish child. He'd already worked out what was happening, and he didn't approve – mostly because his brothers had done the same thing to him once, so he knew how Kelp felt. Though at least he'd known who had done it; Trouble apparently had no idea what was going on.

"That was childish, Holly."

She stuck her tongue out at him, proving his point. He sighed.

"I'm going back to my room. Please, try to keep the giggling to a minimum."

Holly rolled her eyes. He ignored it and left, vowing to keep a closer eye on his belongings in the shower from now on.

Caitir waited until Artemis had gone, then sat beside Holly on the bed. There was a small silence, broken by the elf.

"Thanks for that."

Caitir had been the one who'd actually done the 'borrowing' of Trouble's things. She'd flown in, thus eradicating the footsteps problem, and arranged his clothes neatly on the end of his bed whilst Holly was in the shower. The tiny projector had been in Holly's hand when she'd emerged, and had captured a few moments of Trouble's alarm before he'd spotted her. The sprite nodded, her wings fluttering.

"No problem. It's always good to see another girl around the place; we have to stick together in these things."

"Yeah, and I told you he looked good shirtless."

Holly, looking at the wall in front of her, could just make out a blush on the sprite's cheeks. She pretended not to notice, but it confirmed her suspicions.

"That too, I guess."

There was another silence as the pair tried to think of a new topic. This time, it was Caitir who spoke first.

"So, Edan or Artemis?"

Holly blinked and turned to face the sprite, hiding the disquiet in her expression very well.

"I don't know what you mean."

Caitir scoffed. "Don't pretend. Everyone's seen the two of them fawning over you; the bets are on which of them you'll go for. Of course, neither of them is aware of the gambling... Personally, I've got my money on Edan. I mean, he's a fairy, he's handsome, he's your tutor..."

She trailed off and raised her eyebrows suggestively. Holly fumed for a silent moment, and then decided _to hell with it_.

"What about you and Trouble?"

It was Caitir's turn to fumble for a denial. Holly grinned.

"Don't pretend. Why wouldn't you go for him? I mean, he's a fairy, he's handsome, he's your tutee..."

Caitir suddenly decided that she had somewhere else to be. Holly watched her leave, then flopped back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. There were bets on who she'd pick? Caitir had said that Artemis and Edan didn't know about it, but that implied that everyone else did. She gritted her teeth. Butler was so going to pay when she saw him.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Holly walked into the round room at exactly midday. Artemis and Butler were already seated at one of the tables, debating something over their food. Well, Artemis was talking; Butler was staring at his bacon as though it could help him understand the undoubtedly complicated lecture his charge was delivering. Holly ignored the food and strode to the giant's side.

"Can I have a word?"

Her words were polite, her tone anything but. She sounded churlish enough to halt Artemis mid-lecture. Butler raised his eyebrows, but followed her from the hall to stand in the corridor just outside. Holly waited for Edan to pass before speaking; for once, the male elf didn't flirt with her, instead nodding as he passed. She watched him walk into to the hall, then turned back to Butler and snapped at him.

"Apparently, there are bets being taken on whom I choose – Artemis or Edan. Did you know about this?"

Butler could tell by her tone that she wouldn't believe him if he denied it, so he shrugged.

"I'd heard a rumour."

Holly fumed silently for a few seconds, then got her temper under control enough to speak pseudo-calmly.

"And?"

He frowned, unsure what she meant. Who did he bet on? Who was winning? He coughed and said the safest thing he could think of.

"And the general consensus is that you're lucky to have two men – and, apparently, one bird – fighting over your attentions."

He'd said the wrong thing – Holly all but yelled at him. "It's none of their D'Arvitting business! Whoever I... I mean...."

Butler knelt and put one huge hand on her shoulder, forcing her to halt her spluttering in order to devote her attention to not falling over.

"Nobody's prying, Holly. They're interested, that's all. Can you imagine how boring it must get around here when there's no training to be done? This is their version of a soap opera, and they're going to talk about it. But that's it; nobody is going to interfere."

She seemed calmer, and when she spoke again her tones had reverted to normal volumes. "I guess that would interfere with the bet?"

Butler chuckled. "I guess."

He stood and was halfway back into the round room when she called to him. "Who did you bet on?"

He looked at her over his shoulder and winked. "Artemis, of course."

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Artemis was accompanied into his practice room by Edan and Holly, both of whom were extraordinarily quiet around each other. Yesterday, he would have asked why (in the hopes of there being some sort of falling out), but having learned more than he cared to know in the copse, he didn't bother. He could work enough out on his own; they were feeling uncomfortable, but he didn't know whether it was because they were unsure about the impact of yesterday's incident (he couldn't bring himself to think of them kissing) on their professional acquaintance, or because there was hostility about the way Holly had handled the situation. He had a niggling feeling that she hadn't told him the whole truth about that.

Kelby was waiting for them on the other side of the lake. He stood at their arrival, though he didn't make any attempt to come closer. Artemis for one was grateful for this; Kelby could do enough damage from that distance. Holly on the other hand looked like she'd relish the chance to punch him again. Maybe Edan sensed this, because he caught her hand and pulled her away from Kelby, apparently only realising after he'd touched her what he'd done. He froze. Holly sighed and squeezed his fingers before letting go of his hand. Artemis suppressed the frown that was trying to form on his face. If Holly had felt any negativity towards the elf, she was apparently forgiving him for it.

Kelby coughed, bringing everyone back to earth. "Are we going to do this or what?"

Artemis noticed the abrupt hostility in the elf's voice, but either Edan didn't or he was ignoring it. He clapped his hands together and spoke as if he were instructing a gym class at St. Bartleby's. Artemis had gotten out of that by scaring the teacher and forging various notes to sit out. Pity that wouldn't work here; he could have used the break. Artemis and exertion were not generally words seen in the same sentence.

"Right then. Artemis, you and Kelby will do some basic training in manipulation. I know it's only been a week, but you should at least be able to lift the water by now, if not funnel it. Holly and I will do something similar, and then we will combine and show you how the two seemingly most conflicting elements can work together."

Holly and Artemis eyed each other and smiled. Edan nodded, apparently done with his instructions, and turned back to his pupil. Holly's eyes left Artemis's, and he grudgingly let his attention wander to Kelby. The lessons began.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Working in tandem with another pair was a mixed blessing to Artemis. On the one hand, it meant he had to endure about two hours of Holly being in the same space as him and completely ignoring him, all her attention focussed on Edan. The male elf kept touching her; hesitantly at first, then more confidently as he become sure that she wasn't going to hurt him/shout/run away. He was even beginning to flirt again. Artemis gritted his teeth and wished yet again that he understood Holly. Most people, he could read like an open book. A few gave him problems, but only one confused him in this way. Well, maybe two; Minerva had many of the same qualities as Holly, especially in the wild-mood-swings area.

The good thing that their presence did was to calm Kelby right down. His whole demeanour changed, at least as far as teaching method was concerned. He wasn't shouting; he was explaining properly, and Artemis found himself able to move the water relatively easily compared to previous sessions. Within three hours, he was able to shape the water into a cylinder and hold it in the air for up to a minute – longer than he'd ever managed before. Edan led Holly over to them and launched into another of his explanations.

"You've both developed your abilities to a high enough level for this to be possible. We don't usually combine powers like this so early in the training, but due to special circumstances..."

Artemis bit the inside of his cheek to stop the myriad of sarcastic responses that wanted to come out, Holly clenched her fists and Kelby refused to make eye contact with anyone. Edan cleared his throat and continued.

"Due to the circumstances we're going to try it. If it doesn't work, then it's not a huge problem; we can do some more basic training and combine your gifts later on. Basically, what you do is..."

He launched into a long-winded description of what was going to happen. Holly stopped understanding what was being said about six sentences in, and Artemis lost track (and interest) not long after. So when Edan finished and said 'clear?' in a tone that implied three-year-olds could have understood it, he got uncomprehending and semi-hostile glares in response. Kelby sighed and took a step closer to the group.

"Maybe a demonstration would be more useful?"

Edan nodded and waved a hand genially towards the water tutor. "After you."

Kelby waved one hand carelessly at the lake; a huge cylinder of water lifted and began to swirl around itself like a parody of a tornado. The gesture from the elf looked casual, but Artemis could make out the tension in his arm and the look of concentration in his eyes. Evidently, this was harder than he was making it look.

Edan allowed the swirling water to settle into a rhythm before rubbing his hands together and conjuring a fireball at his fingertips. Kelby's eyes narrowed and his fingers splayed slightly; the water/tornado split, making a sort of spiral in mid-air. Edan sent the flames from his hand to fill the gaps, creating a sort of flamethrower effect that filled most of the room. Sweat broke out on Artemis's brow, but Holly seemed unaffected by the sudden temperature rise; probably a side-effect of being a fire elemental.

The flames stopped coming from Edan's fingers, and the room cooled slightly. The 'tornado' spiral was now a roaring combination of both water and fire; somehow, the two were existing side-by-side without affecting each other. A little steam arose from the dancing spiral, but that was the extent of the interaction. Both Edan and Kelby were now fully focussed on their task, and both did the same thing at the same time. They pulled their fingers in to make a fist, and the spiral contracted into a swirling ball. Still, the water and the fire did not intermingle, but spun around each other in the sphere, creating a lava-lamp-type effect. The tutor's arms relaxed, as did the mixture of elements; the water and fire mixed, and the effect was immediate. The water bubbled, and vents of steam arose from it. The fire was no longer visible except for a slight orange tint to the boiling liquid.

They held this in the air for several seconds, though whether to show off or to allow Holly and Artemis a good look, neither tutee was sure. Gradually, Edan dropped his arm; the water slowed its bubbling and lost the orange tinge. Kelby lowered it back to the lake, where it was immersed with a hiss. Edan turned to Holly and Artemis.

"And that's how it's done."

"Oh? Is that all?" Holly asked, the sarcasm in her tone thick enough to walk on. Edan grinned at her.

"We'll start small, don't worry. That's the big finale. For now, you're just going to practise holding the elements together without extinguishing one or the other. That's the hardest part."

"And the flamethrower?"

Edan showed more teeth.

"We'll get to that. That's what the mannequins are for."

Holly's expression matched his – target practice, her favourite.

Kelby cleared his throat, causing Edan to roll his eyes.

"Alright, alright. I'm getting to it."

He turned his body to the left, including Artemis in the conversation. Kelby came a few steps closer, now almost part of the group. Edan nodded to him. "You and Artemis go first."

Kelby sighed and nodded to his pupil. "Lift the water like we practiced."

"Not too much to start with," Edan interceded. Artemis waved one hand, and a ball of water about the size of his head emerged. Kelby shot Edan a look that told the other elf to shut up, and nodded.

"That will do. Now, shape it and funnel it. It has to be hollow."

Artemis did so; some water sloughed back into the lake, but Kelby either didn't notice or didn't care. He nodded and showed the boy how to split the water to make a spiral. It took a few attempts, but Artemis managed it. Edan nodded, apparently impressed.

"That's the fastest anyone's ever done that."

Kelby glared at him, though whether it was due to the repeated interruptions or the praise, nobody was sure. Edan turned back to his own pupil.

"Your turn. Let's see if you can match Artemis."

How could Holly resist a challenge like that? She nodded and pulled several small flames to the tips of her fingers. Edan scrutinised them for a second before proclaiming himself satisfied.

"Good. Now, remember how you shape it?"

She didn't wait for his prompting, allowing the flames to coalesce and spin into a coil. Edan raised his eyebrows.

"Somebody's been practicing – nicely done. Now, try both together."

Artemis, who had let his water fall back into the lake, sighed and rolled his eyes at the smug look Holly shot him. He pulled another ball of liquid from the surface and formed the helix without being asked. Edan told him to just hold it still.

"This is the hard bit now, but it's going to be much easier if you can each control your element. Now, try to move the flames closer to the water."

Holly extended her fingers, and her flame-spiral moved through the air. As soon as it touched the water, both she and Artemis cried out in pain and let their attention fade. The water fell back to the lake with a splash, and the fire faded out of existence. Both of them glared at Edan, rubbing their hands together to try to get rid of the stinging sensation that had flared to life when their elements had touched. The elf shrugged.

"You get used to that."

"You could have said something," Artemis muttered. Kelby rolled his eyes, boredom clear in his expression.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Just try again without anything fancy. It stings every time, but you learn to ignore it. If that's all we get done this session, at least it's something."

Holly and Artemis looked at each other. This was going to be a long lesson.

* * *

Next time; hmm. I've not decided yet. But I can promise you action.

Thanks for reading, now be a darling and review?

Liris  
xxx


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